The Pigments Applied to IslamicMinaiWares and the Correlation with Chinese Blue-and-White Porcelain

Abstract

Fourteen Minai sherds and one sherd of lajvardina (12th to 13th centuries AD) from several archaeological sites in Iran and Egypt are analysed to clarify the colourants used and the technology of the coloured enamels. The manufacturing process of the coloured enamels and the correlation of the cobalt blue pigment with that used on Chinese blue-and-white porcelain are discussed, based on microscopic examination and chemical composition analysis. This reveals that various processes were used to make the coloured enamels and the tin-opacified lead-alkali glaze of the Minai ware, close to the description given by Abū'l Qasim. Chemical analyses indicate that hematite, chromite, tin oxide, manganese dioxide, copper oxide and cobalt oxide are the colourants for the coloured enamels. Further analysis confirms that the blue pigment applied to Chinese Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain is the same as that used for Minai wares, which probably came from the village of Qamsar, in Kashan County, Iran. It was called sulaimani in Iran and sumali, sumani or suboni blue in China.

Early globalized industrial chain revealed by residual submicron pigment particles in Chinese imperial blue-and-white porcelains

“…In fact, although it is not possible to fully exclude other possibilities, based on the acquired data from geological surveys to date, the specific compositional features of high-contrast residue particles-notably, the low content of Fe and Cu/Ni+Co-appear to have been attributed only to Anarak deposit (30-32) on the Iran Plateau, which is located on the Uroumieh-Dokhtar magmatic belt and famous for its classic five-element association of Ni-Co-As-Cu (U) (31). The signature we observed is also very similar to that of the blue pigment used in early Islamic glazed ceramics (33,34), suggesting that the cobalt ores from the Anarak mining district, rather than those originating from Qamsar, Kashan as previously thought (5,35), might have served as one of the most likely sources of the imported pigment used for Chinese imperial blueand-white porcelains.…”

“…Specifically, it has been claimed that the emergence of native Chinese colorants might be related to the collapse of extravagant tributary trades and officially sponsored voyages, which were considered the most reliable sources of imported blue pigments. Thus, when the pigment inventory was severely depleted, potters had to seek alternative but inferior local colorants and adopt a mixing strategy to save valuable imported pigments while trying to maintain the original aesthetic appearance of blue-and-white porcelains (4,5,11). However, the large quantities of residual arsenic particles that we discovered in Xuande imperial blue-and-white porcelains affirm the adequacy and continuity of the overseas supply chain of raw materials of cobalt ores, even though the authorities had terminated official trade and tributary activities after the death of Admiral Zheng He.…”

“…blue-and-white porcelains | residual pigment particles | globalized trading network | ceramic archaeology T he blue-and-white porcelains of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, made in Jingdezhen, China, represent the highest level of the ancient porcelain making handicraft industry in terms of both quality and production volume and represent one of the most influential aspects of human cultural heritage (1)(2)(3)(4). Moreover, as the raw materials involve cross-regional circulation and trade, blue-and-white porcelain is an optimal subject for discussing the integration of materials, technology, and cultural transmission in ancient Eurasia (3)(4)(5)(6). Thus, related studies, especially on the provenance of cobalt blue pigments, have consistently been a popular topic in archaeological research and have drawn the interest of scholars across a broad range of disciplines.…”

“…As early as 1956, chemical analysis was conducted on the cobalt pigments of selected porcelains at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford (7). Since then, scientists and archaeologists have obtained fruitful results through close collaboration, and blue-and-white porcelain research has become an exemplary case of interdisciplinary cooperation (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). However, researchers have conflicting interpretations regarding the use of pigments for the blue-and-white porcelains produced in the imperial kilns of the Xuande reign of the Ming dynasty, fueling fervent academic discussion.…”

Microscopic analysis of “iron spot” on blue-and-white porcelain from Jingdezhen imperial kiln in early Ming dynasty (14th-15th century)

“…2000 (Kaczmarczyk, ; Moorey, ). In China, a kind of cobalt‐blue pigment imported from Persia in West Asia, also called “Sumali”, was taken to China for producing blue‐and‐white porcelain with blue decorations, when a famous Chinese navigator, Zheng He, sailed westwards seven times by the order of emperor for trade and exploration in the years between 1405 and 1433 of the Yongle and Xuande reign (A.D. 1403–1435) of Ming Dynasty (Kerr, Needham, & Wood, ; Wen & Pollard, ). Because of the lack of exploitation and utilization of native cobalt ore, this kind of imported cobalt‐blue pigment was so rare and precious at that time that only imperial kilns or namely Guan kiln were able to use it to produce blue‐and‐white porcelain for royalty, which represented the royal aesthetic and the highest quality of ancient Chinese ceramics (Chinese Silicate Society, ).…”