Fragment

Art Historical Context

This delicate earthenware fragment, dating to the 9th–10th century, offers a window into the vibrant world of early Islamic ceramics. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Islamic department, it was generously gifted by Mr. and. Wendell M. Hastings 1960. As a simple yet enduring medium, earthenware—fired clay often left unglazed or treated with basic slips—formed the backbone of pottery production across the Abbasid Caliphate, from Mesopotamia to Persia. Crafted during Islam's Golden Age, this piece reflects the ingenuity of artisans in regions like Iraq and Syria, where potters revived ...