Inscriptions on Fatimid lustre ware

This thesis looks at inscriptions on lustre painted vessels in the Fatimid period as a dating criterion. Consideration is given to developments in calligraphy and its layout on vessels relative to painting. Five groups are classified each containing two or three examples, one of which simultaneously constitutes a link to the previous group and a development towards a new style. The vessels examined belong chiefly to the schools of the potters Muslim and Sa\u27d. To further fine tune classification, potters\u27 signatures and inscription content on vessels are also examined, as are trademarks, painting styles and subject matter. Lastly, an attempt is made to check whether vessels are assigned to their right groups by making sure their styles of calligraphy correspond to their styles of painting and subject matter. 77razbands of the period whose inscriptions, more than those on any other media, are comparable to pottery serve as points of reference in this exercise. In my conclusion, I attempt to show calligraphic and motival affinities between vessels of Muslim and Sa\u27d and between tiraz bands from the reign of al Mustansir(1035-1094) which appear to indicate that both may have been contemporaneous at the beginning of that reign