Central Asia, central Afghanistan, Jam in Ghur province, Ghurid Dynasty, ca. 12th to 13th century CE. A wheel-thrown pottery pitcher with a squat foot, a broad piriform body that tapers to a flared neck, and a thick handle that arches between the neck and midsection. Encircling the upper body is an elaborate register of highly stylized anthropomorphic figures who appear to be peeking out from windows, staring straight forward. The zoomorphic program is presented atop a ground of dense incised lines that is interrupted only by the lower handle terminal. An intriguing example of rare Ghurid artistry. Size: 4.6" W x 7" H (11.7 cm x 17.8 cm)

Despite scholars knowing little about the Ghurid Dynasty and its artistic stylings, they do know it had a rich heritage and a unique presentation. The area today known as Jam was once called Firuzkuh, the summer capital of the Ghurid sultanate that was destroyed by the Mongols around 1222 to 1223 CE and rediscovered by international researchers in 1957 because of its huge minaret. A wide profusion of different style vessels seems to have been made in medieval Jam during the short Ghurid Dynasty, which enjoyed brief success in the 12th century before collapsing after the death of its most charismatic rulers; indeed, when the Mongols destroyed it, it seems to have already been a city in decline. The pottery made there is all the more remarkable for the brief window in which it was made.

Provenance: private California, USA collection, by descent, moved from Germany in 1997, originally collected in the 1970s in Hamburg, Germany

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#155956

Small probe hole on lower body; otherwise in fine condition with a few tiny chips and nicks commensurate with age. Light deposits in lower profile areas.