Database: Ceramics and Lustrewares

To accommodate the court's taste for elaborate luxuries, Iraqi potters experimented with new techniques, colors and styles in their creations. Their most important innovation was luster painting, which created a glittering effect so popular that it went on to be exported and copied everywhere from Portugal to Thailand.

One of the main sources of inspiration for Abbasid artisans were Chinese wares, especially white and blue porcelain brought to Iraq by boat in the ninth century. Their hardness, translucency and whiteness were at the time revolutionary in the region, and they enjoyed immense prestige among the wealthy. Initially, Iraqi potters attempted to meet this demand for Chinese imports by direct imitation, coating their usual brown earthenware in a white tin or lead-based substance before adding decorative colored glazes. However, Abbasid potters soon began attempting modifications to produce their own style, adding motifs inspired by local vegetation such as palm trees and meadow plants.

More importantly, Iraqi potters started to experiment with an entirely new technique, luster painting. This involved preparing a special overglaze by blending silver or copper oxides with a carrier such as ochre, and then mixing this fine powder with vinegar and gum. This mix was painted onto an already glazed pot and fired in a special reduced oxygen kiln. If done right, this complicated and costly technique created an incredible metallic sheen. The result was almost alchemical, with simple earth appearing to have been transformed into silver or gold.