Ceramic Fragment
Unknown Artist
14th–15th century
Medium
Stonepaste; polychrome underglaze painted under colorless glaze
Classification
Ceramics
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1913
Accession Number
13.190.25
Art Historical Context
This delicate Ceramic Fragment, dating to the 14th–15th century, hails from the rich tradition of Islamic ceramics and exemplifies the ingenuity of artisans in the medieval Islamic world. Crafted stonepaste—a fine, vitreous composite of quartz, clay, and glass frit that mimicked the prized Chinese porcelain—this shard was adorned with polychrome undergl painting beneath a colorless glaze. This allowed for vibrant, durable colors that withstood daily use, whether on vessels, tiles, architectural elements. The underglaze technique, perfected in regions like Syria, Egypt, and Persia during this ...