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Medieval Ceramics

Hasanlu Period I
After a long period of abandonment, Hasanlu was reoccupied in the late 13th and early 14th centuries AD following the invasion of Iran by the Mongols.  The area of the high mound served as a hillfort and was surrounded by a narrow wall and ditch.  Within the walled area were several large houses of a modified iwan style with a group of rooms surrounding a central courtyard.  Danti (2004) divides the ceramics of this period into several general categories: Unglazed Ware, Monochrome Glazed Ware, Glazed Ware with underglaze decoration, Lustre Ware, and Overglaze Painted Ware.  Unglazed wares included Red Ware, often decorated by comb-incising, and Buff Ware, which was frequently marked by comb incising and impressed designs. Buff Ware was also used for the manufacture of mold-made vessels.  Monochrome Glazed Ware generally consisted of Red Ware decorated with a green glaze. This glaze was applied to the interior and rim of open forms and the exterior of jars.  Sgraffito decoration was fairly common among the open forms.  This ware is commonly known as ‘Gerrus Ware’.  A few examples of fine glazed wares, some with underglaze decoration, were found in the fortress.  These include so-called Sultanabad Ware, Lustre Ware, and black-painted decoration under a turquoise glaze

Monochrome Glazed Ware
Lustre Ware
Black-Painted Decoration under a Turquoise Glaze

The most surprising find in the fortress was a fairly large assemblage of rare Overglaze Painted Ware of the so-called lajvardina type.  This famous ware was covered in a blue glaze and decorated in overlgaze white, red and black enamels and gold leaf in imitation of bejeweled metal vessels. 

 

Further Reading:

Danti, Michael D.
2004  The Ilkhanid Heartland: Hasanlu Tepe (Iran) Period I.  Hasanlu Excavation Reports II. University Museum Monograph 120 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum).

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