Glazed bowl from Afghanistan (Courtesy of the British Museum)
Bamiyan, Afghanistan
London, British Museum (1977,0720.2)
Sgraffiato ware; H 8.5, D 15.7
Islamic Period: 1000-1200
This complete glazed bowl had been discovered in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. It’s made in “Sgraffiato Ware”, a ceramic produced by Islamic potters where the decoration consists in incisions of patterns through the slip, revealing the differently coloured body beneath. From here the name sgraffiato (“scratched”). Sgraffiato ware was mostly produced during the 11th and early 13th centuries and occurs also at the site of Salut which, during the 12th and 13th centuries AD, reveals important occupational traces. (AP)