IFAO

The Islamic Pottery Discovered in the Area of Western Mountain in Assīut :Publication and Study

The Pottery, which are the objects of investigation, have been discovered when cleaning the floors of some ancient Egyptians tombs through the work of the associate mission if both Sohag University and the German University of Mainz in West Mountain area in Assiut. The objects concerns 6 types of pottery, 5 are Islamic and the sixth is imported from China. The Islamic pottery fall into the following types : 1- Unglazed earthenware, 2- Glazed earthenware, 3- Monochrome- glazed pottery, 4- Underglazed- painted pottery, 5- Imitation of Tang pottery. While the pottery imported from China is the porcelain.

In order to investigate this pottery, attention has been given to their different artistic aspects such as the kinds of pottery, shapes, materials, decoration, colours, studying their history and defining their users. All this is accomplished through a detailed historical study of the history of the area where these objects been found in addition to the attempt to discover the place of their making.

Keywords: Assiut – Western mountain – Mamluk military society – Islamic pottery – Mamluk pottery – Unglazed earthenware – Glazed earthenware – Monochrome glazed pottery – Underglazed painted pottery – Imitation of Tang pottery – porcelain