Fragment

Art Historical Context

This exquisite earthenware fragment, dating to the 11th–12th century, offers a glimpse into the vibrant of Islamic ceramics from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Islamic Art collection. Craft by an unknown artist, it exemplifies unglazed earthenware adorned with slip—a liquid clay applied for color and texture—and sgraffito decoration. Sgraffito, meaning "scratched" in Italian involved incising through the upper slip layer to reveal the contrasting clay beneath, creating intricate patterns that danced in the light. In the medieval Islamic world, such techniques flourished in regions like Pers...