Raqqa ware

File:Raqqa Ware Luster Bowl.jpeg

Raqqa ware ceramics are generally made with a coarse stonepaste that appears reddish-grey before firing. Occasionally, while the stonepaste was still wet, the piece's exterior was either engraved or embossed to add relief decoration.Talmon-Heller, Daniella, editor. Cytryn-Silverman, Katia. Material evidence and narrative sources: interdisciplinary studies of the history of the Muslim Middle East. {{ISBN|9789004271593}} OCLC 903185722. After drying, the frit body was then covered in a layer of white slip. Monochrome and polychrome underglaze with stains of either copper (turquoise), cobalt (blue) or manganese (purplish-brown) were then applied. The pieces were also decorated with designs in black and blue at this stage. Decorative patterning, though bold, was typically simple. Some works exhibit complex patterning, but the most humble are completed with just a turquoise glaze. Recurring shapes include calligraphy, faux calligraphy, spirals, trefoils, vegetal patterns and arabesque.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina (2006). Raqqa revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 11. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516. The ornamental patterns and shapes on Raqqa wares are not precise, and the materials used were coarse and inexpensive; this suggests that these wares were created for the middle and lower classes. After drying, the ceramics were further covered in a thick layer of glaze, typically in various shades of turquoise, however a lustre layer, of chocolate, reddish-brown or gray colors, could also be used.Alan, Caiger-Smith (2001). Lustre pottery: technique, tradition, and innovation in Islam and the Western world. Gentle Breeze. {{ISBN|0571135072}} OCLC 64245940. The resulting works are simple ceramics with bright coloring and bold decoration."Jar". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 28 November 2018. Most often, Raqqa ware is turquoise, but purple, deep blue, and pale green pieces exist.Freer Gallery of Art. Smithsonian Institution. 1980.

File:Ceramic Lantern MET DP101036.jpg

The definition of "Raqqa ware" and the ceramics themselves have been a subject of debate and controversy since the coining of the term in the late 19th century.{{Cite journal|last=Milwright|first=Marcus|date=June 2005|title=Ceramics from the Recent Excavations near the Eastern Wall of Rafiqa (Raqqa), Syria|journal=Levant|volume=37|issue=1|pages=197–219|doi=10.1179/lev.2005.37.1.197|s2cid=161436594 |issn=0075-8914}} This is due to the influence of salesmen's market schemes in academia, the implication that Raqqa Ware was unique to Raqqa, and questionably vague provenances of works that exist in both museums and private collections today. "Raqqa ware" has thus become a term referring to an overarching group of ceramics that fall into the same stylistic category, but does not necessarily indicate a Raqqan origin, as works have been found along the Euphrates River, throughout Southern Anatolia, Syria and Egypt.Fuller, Dorian Q (January 2004). [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dorian_Fuller/publication/242214183_The_Central_Amri_to_Kirbekan_Survey_A_Preliminary_Report_on_Excavations_and_Survey_2003-04/links/0c96052899cbb55cd5000000.pdf "The Central Amri to Kirbekan Survey: A Preliminary Report on Excavations and Survey 2003–04"] (PDF). Sudan & Nubia: 5–19, 9.

Marilyn Jenkins-Madina and other scholars attribute the beginning of this confusion about Raqqa Ware to "Orientalism", the late 19th and early 20th century European fascination with the Middle East. Many factors, including French Imperialism, Romanticism and the translation of Alf Layla wa-Layla (One Thousand and One Nights), from Arabic into English and French, increased the European interest with the so-called "Orient".Meagher, Jennifer (October 2004). "[https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/euor/hd_euor.htm Orientalism in Nineteenth-Century Art]". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 28 November 2018. As this fascination with the Middle East rose dramatically, tourism intensified as well as the demand for art objects.Demerdash, Nancy. "[https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/intro-becoming-modern/a/orientalism Orientalism]". Khan Academy. Retrieved 28 November 2018 Art associated with One Thousand and One Nights, such as the ceramics found in Raqqa, the site of the principal palace of Harun al-Rashid, an Abbasid Caliph and prominent figure in the novel, were particularly easy to market to Western consumers.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina (2006). Raqqa Revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 6, 11, 13. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516. Many of salesmen and archeologists took advantage of the situation, and Raqqa ware began to appear on the European markets at the end of the 19th century.Marilyn., Jenkins-Madina, (2006). Raqqa Revisited : Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 11. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516. However, these salesmen often manipulated the dating of the objects to align with the false 9th century narrative they were creating as a marketing scheme.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina (2006). Raqqa Revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 15, 16, 19, 21, 26. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516. In reality, some of the ceramics sold were not actually Raqqan, and pieces that were Raqqan, were produced in the first half of the 13th century, entirely halting with the invasion of the Mongols.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina (2006). Raqqa Revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 16, 26, 179, 186. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516. This postdates Harun al-Rashid by nearly 400 years. These manipulations and misinformation caused great confusion about Raqqa ware.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina (2006). Raqqa Revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 179. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516.

The original state-sponsored excavations at Raqqa were underfunded and hard to protect from looters and salesmen.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina (2006). Raqqa Revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 33, 203, 193, 209. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516. Some Circassians, refugees fleeing religious persecution from Caucasus in 1905 resettled just west of Raqqa.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina (2006). Raqqa Revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York k: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 23, 24, 199. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516. There are many reports of both locals and Circassians looting the cite, conducting illegal excavations, and openly selling the unearthed materials to tourists.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina (2006). Raqqa Revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 24, 25, 33, 194, 199. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516. Because of this, some antique businesses directly sourced ceramics from illegal excavations.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina (2006). Raqqa Revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 26. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516. As a byproduct of this illegal trade, many objects originally sold to tourists and now housed in private collections and museums today have vague provenances that lack documentation.Marilyn, Jenkins-Madina; Smith, Dylan T. (2006). "Appendix2: Compositional analysis of early-thirteen-century ceramics from Raqqa and related sites". Raqqa Revisited: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 221. {{ISBN|1588391841}} OCLC 822993516.

"Raqqa ware" can refer to pottery that is not unique to Raqqa. Though universally referred to as "Raqqa ware", the pottery discovered in Raqqa was not unique to the site, and the style was by no means limited to that city.Tonghini, Cristina; Henderson, Julian (1998). "[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/lev.1998.30.1.113 An Eleventh-century Pottery Production Workshop at al-Raqqa. Preliminary Report]". Levant. 30 (1): 113–127. doi:10.1179/lev.1998.30.1.113. ISSN 0075-8914 Wasters – discarded and unsellable ceramics that were damaged during production – were discovered in excavations at Balis, Syria, indicating that the site was a location of Raqqa ware production.

Major collections are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Ashmolean Museum.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

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Category:Syrian pottery

Category:Arabic pottery

Category:Raqqa

Category:Islamic pottery