The Introduction of the Glaze in Al-Andalus: Technological Waves and Oriental Influences

Libyan Studies 51 (2020), pp 87–98 © The Society for Libyan Studies doi:10.1017/lis.2020.8 The introduction of the glaze in al-Andalus: Technological waves and Oriental influences By Elena Salinas and Trinitat Pradell Abstract dated to the second half of the ninth century in This research develops a much-needed approach to the Pechina (Castillo and Martínez 1993). study of glazed ware production in al-Andalus (Muslim We began with the initial hypothesis that the main Spain and Portugal) during the early Middle Ages. The early production and exporting centre of transparent introduction of glaze to the Iberian Peninsula was a long glazed ceramics was located in Pechina (Salinas and and complex process involving three waves of technology Zozaya 2016). There is also archaeological evidence transfer arriving from the eastern Islamic regions between of a later glaze workshop in Málaga (Íñiguez and the ninth and eleventh centuries. In this paper, the main Mayorga, 1993). No more evidence of early glaze glaze workshops of each technological wave have been char- production centres has been found, other than that acterised in order to understand how the medieval techno- of Córdoba, which was identified during the course logical transmission took place and how political and of this investigation. It has been proposed that there economic factors influenced this gradual dissemination. was a single polychrome tin-glaze workshop, part of a centralised monopoly (Rosselló 1995), during the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031 CE). The fitna or ﺇﺩﺧﺎﻝ ﺍﻟﺘﺰﺟﻴﺞ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺍﻷﻧﺪﻟﺴ: ﺍﻟﻤﻮﺟﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﺘﻜﻨﻮﻟﻮﺟﻴﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﺄﺛﻴﺮﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﺸﺮﻗﻴﺔﺇﻳﻠﻴﻨﺎ civil war (1009–31 CE) led to the collapse of the ﺳﺎﻟﻴﻨﺎﺱ، ﺗﺮﻳﻨﻴﺘﺎﺕ ﺑﺮﺍﺩﻳﻠ caliphate and the fragmentation of power into several ﻳﻄﻮﺭ ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍﻟﺒﺤﺚ ﻧﻬﺠﴼ ﻣﻄﻠﻮﺑﴼ ﺑﺸﺪﺓ ﻟﺪﺭﺍﺳﺔ ﺇﻧﺘﺎﺝ ﺍﻷﻭﺍﻧﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﺰﺟﺠﺔ -glazed ware) ‘Taifa’ kingdoms (1031–85 CE). One of the conse) ﻓﻲ ﺍﻷﻧﺪﻟﺲ (ﺇﺳﺒﺎﻧﻴﺎ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﺔ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺮﺗﻐﺎﻟ) ﺧﻼﻝ ﺍﻟﻌﺼﻮﺭ quences of this was that tin-glaze technology spread ﺍﻟﻮﺳﻄﻰ ﺍﻟﻤﺒﻜﺮﺓ. ﻟﻘﺪ ﻛﺎﻥ ﺇﺩﺧﺎﻝ ﺍﻟﺘﺰﺟﻴﺞ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺷﺒﻪ ﺍﻟﺠﺰﻳﺮﺓ ﺍﻹﻳﺒﻴﺮﻳﺔ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ to the new capitals of the kingdoms, coinciding with ﻃﻮﻳﻠﺔ ، ﺣﻴﺚ ﺗﻀﻤﻨﺖ ﺛﻼﺙ ﻣﻮﺟﺎﺕ ﻣﻦ ﻧﻘﻞ ﺍﻟﺘﻜﻨﻮﻟﻮﺟﻴﺎ ﺍﻟﻘﺎﺩﻣﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻃﻖ .the beginning of lustre production ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻣﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺸﺮﻗﻴﺔ ﺑﻴﻦ ﺍﻟﻘﺮﻧﻴﻦ ﺍﻟﺘﺎﺳﻊ ﻭﺍﻟﺤﺎﺩﻱ ﻋﺸﺮ. ﻓﻲ ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻟﻮﺭﻗﺔ، ﺗﻢ ﻭﺻﻒ -Unlike in the eastern Islamic regions, the transmis ﻭ ﺗﻤﻴﻴﺰ ﻭﺭﺵ ﺍﻟﺘﺰﺟﻴﺞ ﺍﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﻴﺔ ﻟﻜﻞ ﻣﻮﺟﺔ ﺗﻜﻨﻮﻟﻮﺟﻴﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺃﺟﻞ ﻓﻬﻢ ﻛﻴﻔﻴﺔ sion of glaze technology know-how in al-Andalus did ﺣﺪﻭﺙ ﺍﻻﻧﺘﻘﺎﻝ ﺍﻟﺘﻜﻨﻮﻟﻮﺟﻲ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻌﺼﻮﺭ ﺍﻟﻮﺳﻄﻰ ﻭﻛﻴﻒ ﺃﺛﺮﺕ ﺍﻟﻌﻮﺍﻣﻞ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺎﺳﻴﺔ not take place all at once. In fact, it needed over two ﻭﺍﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎﺩﻳﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍﻻﻧﺘﺸﺎﺭ ﺍﻟﺘﺪﺭﻳﺠﻴ. centuries of assimilation and was heavily conditioned by political and economic events. Three technological glaze waves can be identified: the first in the mid ninth Introduction century with the production of transparent glazes; the Although the Romans produced lead-glazed ceramics second in the early tenth century, comprising the pro- on the Iberian Peninsula, this technology subse- duction of opaque tin glazes; and the third in the mid quently disappeared. In fact, some vessels from late eleventh century, involving the production of lustre- antiquity contexts that were formerly identified as decorated wares (see Table 1). ‘glazed ceramics’ have recently been recognised as With regard to the first wave, we focused on crucibles for glass production (Peña et al. in press). southern Iberia (Fig. 1), sampling 16 of the 30 previ- Glaze technology was reintroduced to Iberia from ously identified glaze finds from the emirate of the Islamic world in several technological waves. Córdoba (Salinas and Zozaya 2016). We followed a This technological transfer did not reach the quantification criteria, as most of the northern sites Peninsula – which was conquered by the Arabs and only contained one or two glazed samples, whereas Berbers in 711 CE – in the early days of al-Andalus, the studied settlements had more – between three in spite of the spread of glaze technology throughout and 1,500 (the latter from a workshop area). They the eastern Islamic lands (Syria, Egypt, Iraq, etc.). The made up the bulk of this study, with a total of 152 first evidence of glazed ware production has to be early glazed samples analysed. In order to understand the transition to the second wave, 40 samples from ‡ The original version of this article was published with the incorrect four sites were selected for study. Finally, the third abstract. A notice detailing this has been published and the error rectified in the online PDF and HTML copies. wave was addressed by analysing three pieces of evidence from the only possible lustre workshop identi- Characterisation of Materials Group (GCM), Physics Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC-BarcelonaTech), Av. Eduard fied so far. There may have been another production Maristany 16, Barcelona 08019, Spain centre in north-eastern Iberia (Ortega et al. 2013), 87 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 95.23.173.105, on 08 Apr 2021 at 13:03:09, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/lis.2020.8 ELENA SALINAS PLEGUEZUELO AND TRINITAT PRADELL Table 1 - Summary of historical context and glaze technological waves studied. but no archaeological evidence for it has yet been Glaze technologies in medieval Spain found. In addition, six glazed imports were analysed From the study and analysis of glazed ceramic sherds, in order to determine their possible influence on the we were able to distinguish several glaze and decora- local productions. tive technologies related to the three waves (Table 2). Our approach was multidisciplinary and included In particular, we distinguished between plain trans- historical documentation, archaeological evidence, the parent lead glazes, polychrome transparent lead sampling of glazed ceramics from well-contextualised glazes, polychrome opaque tin glazes and lustre archaeological excavations, and chemical and petro- designs. The main production centres related to the graphic analyses of ceramic bodies and glazes. three technological waves identified so far are shown in Fig. 2. First glaze technological wave After revising archaeological finds from the pottery craft quarters of Málaga, Córdoba and Pechina, their glaze productions have been identified and characterised. These earliest glazed ceramic workshops specialised in glazed tableware and oil lamps with transparent lead glazes, incised decoration, and one or two plain colours applied over each sur- face. They were in operation during the late ninth and early tenth centuries (Fig. 2). The composition and technological features of the ceramic pastes and fabric groups were studied to determine their geographical area of origin and to confirm their provenance (Table 2 and Fig. 3). Pechina ware is calcareous (15–20% CaO) with Figure 1. Localisation of the archaeological sites sampled. (1) Pechina. (2) Murcia. (3) Madinat Ilbira. fine metamorphic inclusions (mica and schist) and a (4) Marroquíes Bajos. (5) Puente Tablas. (6) buff-coloured fabric. Córdoba ware is also calcareous – Calatrava la Vieja. (7) Córdoba. (8) Madinat (10 15% CaO) with fine sedimentary inclusions al-Zahra. (9) Alfarnate. (10) Valsequillo. (11) (quartz, feldspar, mica and some fossil foraminifera) Vélez-Málaga. (12) Bezmiliana. (13) Málaga. (14) and coarse round white calcareous and red iron-rich Sevilla. (15) Mértola. (16) Silves. inclusions; the predominant colour is orange. 88 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 95.23.173.105, on 08 Apr 2021 at 13:03:09, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/lis.2020.8 https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core Table 2 - Table with the different glaze and decorative technologies used in al-Andalus. https://doi.org/10.1017/lis.2020.8 TW Technique Chronology Workshop Location Inclusions Decoration Patterns Colour Colorants Opacifiers Firing/s 1 Mono/ Second half V Pechina Metamorphic Plain Incised Green Cu, Fe 2 THE INTRODUCTION OF THE GLAZE IN AL Bichrome of 9th C. mica, schist Amber . IPaddress: lead Transparent transparent 95.23.173.105 Second half V Córdoba Sedimentary Plain incised Green Cu, Fe 2 of 9th C. quartz, feldspar, plastic Amber calcareous & , on iron-rich inc. 08 Apr2021 at13:03:09 10th C. V Málaga Sedimentary Plain incised Brown Mn, Fe 1? flint, phyllite, Amber quartz, shells 89 Polychrome Late Córdoba? Sedimentary Overglaze Splashes Green Cu, Fe, Mn 2 lead 9th-early Pechina? fine quartz & Geometric Amber , subjectto theCambridgeCore termsofuse,available at transparent 10th C. mica Brown Transparent 2 Polychrome Late Córdoba? Sedimentary Overglaze Geometric Green Cu, Fe, Mn SnO2 2 tin-opaque 9th-early 10th fine quartz, Amber C (Emiral) feldspar & mica Brown ‐ White ANDALUS 929–1010 V Córdoba Sedimentary Overglaze Geometric, Green Cu, Fe, Mn SnO2 2 (Caliphal) quartz, feldspar, Plant, Zoo, Amber mica, Epigraphic, Brown calcareous inc. Human White 3 Lustre Second half V? Sevilla Sedimentary Lustre Geometric Gold White Cu, Ag SnO2 3 tin-opaque of 11th C. fine and scarce technology Epigraphic ELENA SALINAS PLEGUEZUELO AND TRINITAT PRADELL Figure 2. The glaze production centres from al-Andalus corresponding to the three technological waves studied. Málaga ware has a low calcareous content (5.5–8.5% techniques, colorants, raw materials, composition CaO) with fine sedimentary inclusions (flint, phyl- and style, vessel

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