Analysis and Typology of Pottery (6th to 8th Centuries A.D.) in Maragheh Museum

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Cultural Materials Conservation, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz Iran.

2 Master's Graduate, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Cultural Materials Conservation, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz Iran.

Abstract

The Maragheh Ilkhanid Museum is one of the specialized pottery museums in Iran. The pottery housed in this museum was not unearthed in Maragheh itself but was collected from various parts of northwestern Iran. Despite the lack of precise information regarding the exact locations and contexts of these pottery finds, the variety and quantity of pottery preserved in this museum surpass the excavation data of dozens of rich Islamic sites. One of the unique features of this museum is the presence of various pottery techniques from the Ilkhanid period (15th–16th centuries). Introducing these techniques in the form of an academic article can provide valuable resources for researchers. In this study, we have attempted to classify the pottery of this museum through field and library research and to describe the characteristics of each type. The key questions addressed in this article are as follows:

   1. What types of decorative technologies were used on the pottery in the Maragheh Museum?
   2. How many typological categories can be identified?

Based on our study, it was determined that all the pottery in this museum belongs to the Ilkhanid period and is decorated using the techniques of sgraffito (scratching under the glaze), underglaze painting (Ghalam Meshki and Sultanabad), and over glaze painting (Golden Paste and Mina’i). Kashan-style pottery, which originated in the Seljuk period, is also among the most common types. Additionally, unglazed pottery produced using the mold technique is considered one of the most prevalent types. Through this study, the Ilkhanid pottery collection of the Maragheh Museum was classified into eleven distinct types, encompassing all the common pottery styles of the Ilkhanid period.

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Main Subjects

Journal of Applied Arts
Volume 5, Issue 2 - Serial Number 18
September 2025
Pages 65-81

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History

  • Receive Date: 19 July 2024
  • Revise Date: 15 February 2025
  • Accept Date: 10 March 2025

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