In looking at later examples of Wedgewood and the like, you can sense a harkening back to the great porcelain and fritware of China and the Islamic world. This is a good example of one of those formative influences that the English so readily stole from, not caring that it was, in turn, influenced by earlier works from China and Japan.
Tag: Islamic art
Friday
This plate totally looks modern contemporary rather than 16-17th century contemporary. I can only imagine the looks it got at the time for being so avant garde.
Thursday
The level of detailing on this bowl is insane. Positively insane.
Wednesday
This looks like it could leap straight out of a modern tiled surface – that’s the enduring legacy of Islamic tile.
Tuesday
Look at these. Look at them. These aren’t just bowls: these are works of the finest craftsmanship. They transcend art. They outlast their maker and their commissioner and the world they were made in; they are still important to the world even today. They are a special kind of beauty.
Monday
This is not a candlestick made for a puny little taper. This is for a pillar candle thick as an arm that would generate enough light to work by in the late evening and even late into the night. This was the first real attempt at artificial lighting – this and oil lamps. Bigger, faster, harder.
Sunday
Say what you will: Islamic metalwork holds up really well. I think it has to do with the desert and sand corrosion v. salt corrosion from the ocean (aka, from most of western Europe), but most examples have weathered remarkably well.
Wednesday
The Persian fritware is so good at utilizing metallic glazes. I love this piece because it is so complex as to be abstract, and yet, is completely simple at the same time. It is a delightful example of its typical type.
Wednesday
Astrolabes were the Google Maps of the world before the digital age. They are incredibly important and to have such a fine example in the SLAM collection makes my nerdy little heart indescribably happy.
Tuesday
You know what these look like? Faberge enamelware designs from the 1890s. I guess we know where he lifted some of his inspiration from, eh?