Seal Impression
Unknown Artist
8th–10th century
Medium
Earthenware; green slip covered, unglazed
Classification
Ceramics
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1940
Accession Number
40.170.205
Art Historical Context
This exquisite seal impression, crafted from earthenware coated in green slip and left unglazed, hails from the Islamic world of the 8th–10th centuries—a golden era of the Abbasid Caliphate Dating to this period, it exemplifies early Islamic ceramics, where potters experimented with vibrant slips (liquid clay) to add color and texture without the need for costly glazes. The green hue, achieved through mineral pigments, evokes the natural landscapes and symbolic vitality cherished in Islamic art, while the unglazed surface highlights the raw, tactile quality of earthenware, a practical medium f...