This is a lovely luster ceramic bowl supported by a foot formed of a simple ring. White enamel covers the inside and outside of the vessel. Minor chips interrupt this base on which a floral, cobalt blue decoration is painted. A large flower with a double row of petals which is geometrically arranged around the center occupies the bottom of the cup. A circle surrounds the flower and a second one emphasizes the inner lip.

The outer decoration of the cup is entirely lost. Traces of blue remain, indicating the presence of at least one line on the shoulder. The foot would have also been painted in blue.

This piece is in line with the achievements of Nasrid ceramics created by the great production centers of Malaga or Almeria, in Andalusia, around the 14th century. At that time, this region was the last Muslim bastion in Spain under the domination of the kingdom of Grenade, which had been founded in 1238 by Mohammed ibn Nasr. The rest of the peninsula, gradually invaded by the Reconquista, was under the domination of the Christian kingdoms, with Castile and Aragon among main actors.

The Nasiri Dynasty reigning in Granada would play the clever game of diplomacy and maintain a brilliant culture by giving intellectual and artists a special place. The beautiful Palace of the Alhambra was therefore constructed under this dynasty and embraces by itself all the techniques of the applied arts.

The production of Nasiri luster ceramics enjoyed an international reputation at that time and was exported both in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. The most famous pieces are the extraordinary vessels known as the Alhambra vases, the form of which derives from the traditional tinajas (large wine jars which were made in Spain and in North Africa in the 10th-11th century). Nasrid ceramics are characterized by a white enamel that covers the surface, on which ornaments are then painted in golden brown and cobalt blue.

Bibliography
SOUSTIEL J., La Céramique islamique, Fribourg, 1985, pp. 170-187.
TORRE BALBAS L., Arte almohade, arte nazarí, arte mudéjar in : Ars Hispaniae, Vol IV, Madrid 1949.

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