Islamic Art from The David Collection | Part II

 

Powder horn, carved ivory
India; 17th century
L: 24.5 cm
Inv. no. 1/1974
© The David Collection

 
 
 

The David Collection in Copenhagen, Denmark houses the most important collection of Islamic art in Scandinavia. The fine online curation of this stellar gathering of objects offers multiple intriguing pathways to explore the art history of the Islamic world. In this offering, we shine a light on a selection of exemplary works from four categories within the collection — Ceramics, Glass, Stone and Stucco, and Ivory, Wood, and Papier-mâché.

 
 
 

Ceramics

Within the field of ceramics, China was the great source of inspiration for the Middle East. Although Muslim potters never managed to make coveted porcelain, they did invent tin-glazed earthenware: faience. They further developed fritware, introduced lustreware and underglaze painting, and mastered many other decoration techniques.

In 13th-century Iran, there were so many different types of ceramics that no comparable variation was found until the 19th century, in Europe.

Although ceramics can break, it does not decompose and cannot be recycled, so this is the group of works of art from the Islamic world that is best preserved.

 
 
 
 

Earthenware bowl, covered with a white slip and painted in black, yellow, and green under a transparent glaze
Eastern Iran, Nishapur; 10th century
H: 9.5; Diam: 21.8 cm
Inv. no. 13/1975
© The David Collection

Fritware stand, molded in the form of three lions, covered with a blue glaze and painted in lustre
Iran, Kashan; c. 1200
H: 21.5 cm; Diam: 25 cm
Inv. no. 45/1968
© The David Collection

Fritware dish, painted in blue and black under a transparent glaze
Turkey, Iznik; c. 1575
H: 7.3; Diam: 35.5 cm
Inv. no. 27/1978
© The David Collection

Fritware bowl, with polychrome decoration and gold leaf in and over an opaque, white glaze. Minai type
Iran, Kashan; c. 1200
H: 8.5; Diam: 21.7 cm
Inv. no. 34/1999
© The David Collection

Fritware jar painted in black and blue under a transparent glaze
Syria; Raqqa; beginning of 13th century
H: 31.5 cm
Inv. no. D 73/1986
© The David Collection

Earthenware bowls covered with a whitish slip and painted with colored slips under a transparent glaze
Iran; 11th century
H: 9; Diam: 19 cm
Inv. no. 9/1964
© The David Collection

Earthenware bowl, painted in lustre over an opaque, white glaze
Iraq; 10th century
H: 6.5; Diam: 23.7 cm
Inv. no. 44/1967
© The David Collection

Fritware jug, painted in black and blue and with a red slip under a transparent glaze
Turkey, Iznik; c. 1575
H: 21 cm
Inv. no. 1/1962
© The David Collection

Fritware dish, with carved decoration and painted in blue, turquoise, and manganese under a transparent glaze. Laqabi type
Syria, Raqqa?; 2nd half of 12th century
H: 7.5; Diam: 27.3 cm
Inv. no. 22/1985
© The David Collection

Fritware dish, painted in blue, green, and black and with a red slip under a transparent glaze
Turkey, Iznik; c. 1600
H: 6.8; Diam: 36 cm
Inv. no. 24/1975
© The David Collection

Fritware spouted jar with lid, covered with a blue slip and painted in lustre over a transparent glaze
Iran; 17th century
H: 14.5 cm
Inv. no. 10/1988
© The David Collection

Fritware bowl, decorated in lustre over a transparent glaze. Tell Minis type
Syria; c. 1150
H: 6.2; Diam: 19.5 cm
Inv. no. D 74/1986
© The David Collection

 
 
 
 

Glass

The Roman Empire had fostered unexcelled glassmakers, but many of their techniques were forgotten with its decline. Over the centuries, nearly all of the techniques were revived and some were further developed by Muslim glassmakers.

The many methods include the millefiori technique, overlay glass, sandwich glass, marvered and pinched glass, lustre and enamel decoration, various kinds of cutting and engraving techniques, and methods for making simpler types, such as blown and molded pieces.

 
 
 
 

Flacon of blue glass with marvered white-thread decoration
Egypt or Syria; 8th-9th century
H: 5.5 cm
Inv. no. 31/2003
© The David Collection

Bottle, brownish glass, partly blown in a mold, with applied thread decoration
Iran; 12th-1st half of 13th century
H: 20.7 cm
Inv. no. 9/1987
© The David Collection

Bottle of colourless glass decorated with coloured enamel and gilding
Syria; mid-13th century
H: 24; Maximum diam: 15.5 cm
Inv. no. 12/2020
© The David Collection

Carpet weight (mir-i farsh) of blue-green glass with marvered decorations in coloured glass and traces of gilt
India; 18th century
H: 8; greatest W: 9.5 cm
Inv. no. 11/2014
© The David Collection

Flacon, yellowish and blue-green glass
Syria?; 7th-9th century
H: 10 cm
Inv. no. 49/1979
© The David Collection

Bottle, greenish glass, with relief-cut decoration
Iraq or Iran; 9th-10th century
H: 21.5 cm
Inv. no. 10/1963
© The David Collection

Mosque lamp, colorless glass decorated with polychrome enamels and gilding
Egypt or Syria; 14th century
H: 26 cm
Inv. no. 31/2008
© The David Collection

Bottle of green glass, partially mould-blown with marvered pieces of yellow glass
India; 17th–18th century
H: 20 cm
Inv. no. 33/2007
© The David Collection

 
 
 
 

Stone and Stucco

Stone can be categorized into three groups: gemstones, semi-precious stones, and coarser varieties.

Gemstones cut in different ways were used to embellish jewelry and weapons. Semi-precious stones such as rock crystal, jade, carnelian, and jasper were used to make small, finely worked luxury items, from jugs to dagger hilts, but also for seals. In addition, they were employed as an inlay material for pietra dura work.

Marble, alabaster, and sandstone are the varieties of stone that were most often utilized for architectural decorations, from capitals and wall reliefs to jalis and inscription panels. They were also used for other sculptural purposes, for example, tombstones and fountains.

Stucco is an artificial material that consists of lime, marble dust, and gypsum. It was used extensively for wall decorations in both low and high relief in Iraq and Iran during the 8th and 9th centuries. The stucco technique perhaps reached its culmination in Nasrid Spain.

 
 
 
 

Mango-shaped container, rock crystal, inlaid with gold and rubies
India, Mughal; 17th century
H: 6 cm
Inv. no. 35/1980
© The David Collection

Fragment of a marble panel carved on both sides
Afghanistan, Ghazna; c. 1100
H: 46; W: 85; D: 8 cm
Inv. no. 23a-b/1989
© The David Collection

Architectural element, limestone
Jazira; 13th century
H: 33.5; W: 19.5; D: 6.5 cm
Inv. no. 1/1990
© The David Collection

Mihrab tile, carved marble
Afghanistan, Ghazna; c. 1100
H: 52; W: 34 cm
Inv. no. 74/1979
© The David Collection

Two limestone reliefs
Iran, Hamadan (?); c. 1200
H: 47; W: 62 cm
Inv. no. 11a/1978 & 11b/1978
© The David Collection

Cut, engraved spinel
India; c. 1600
2 × 1.8 × 0.8 cm
Inv. no. 1/2014
© The David Collection

Ewer, rock crystal
Egypt; c. 1000
H: 15.5 cm
Inv. no. 27/1999
© The David Collection

Box turned from steatite (soapstone), with incised and painted decoration
Afghanistan or eastern Iran; 13th century
H: 10; Diam:11.2 cm
Inv. no. 36/2005
© The David Collection

Stele, marble, with a carved Kufi inscription
Tunisia; Rabia al-akhar 265 H = December 878
H: 90 cm
Inv. no. 4/1994
© The David Collection

 
 
 
 

Ivory, Wood, and Papier-mâché

In many ways, the same techniques are employed for ivory and wood when they are used for artistic embellishments. They can remain undecorated or can be carved, painted, or inlaid.

An object made from a single piece of ivory cannot exceed the size of the tusk, whether the ivory comes from an elephant or a walrus. Wood, in contrast, can be used for both small objects and very large architectural elements.

Although artists in the Islamic world had an abundant supply of both Indian and African ivory, the material was costly. The availability of wood varied more. In certain regions, the material was common, in others so costly that wood from old structures was reused, even small pieces, for example, combined in geometric panels or as inlaying material.

Papier-mâché is a cardboard-like substance made from paper pulp that was most often used for small objects, which were painted and lacquered.

 
 
 
 

Wooden panel, carved with a Kufi inscription, from the Ibn Tulun Mosque
Egypt, Cairo; c. 879
H: 29.5; L: 121 cm
Inv. no. 1/2002
© The David Collection

Casket, carved ivory with gilt-bronze fittings
Spain, Cordoba; c. 966-968
H: 9.9; W: 14.5; D: 9.3 cm
Inv. no. 5/2002
© The David Collection

Powder horn, carved ivory
India; 17th century
L: 24.5 cm
Inv. no. 1/1974
© The David Collection

Steel knife with a handle of carved walrus tusk ivory
Turkey; 1st half of 16th century
L: 17,5 cm
Inv. no. 9/2005
© The David Collection

Throne leg, carved ivory with traces of paint
India, Deccan; 17th century
H: 31.2 cm
Inv. no. 26/2008
© The David Collection

Panel, carved cedar
Eastern Iran; 1109
H: 60; W: 62 cm
Inv. no. 11/1977
© The David Collection

Panel from a box, wood, painted and lacquered
India, Deccan or Sindh; 1st half of 17th century
H: 20; W: 31 cm
Inv. no. 56/1999
© The David Collection

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Art of the Ancestors extends a special thank you to The David Collection and Sonja Wiesener.
All images and texts included in this feature have been graciously provided by The David Collection and photographer Pernille Klemp.