Irandaily | No. 4390 | Iranica

Font Size

News Cut

Move Panel

Art of Pottery

The history of the art of pottery in Iran goes back to ancient times.
When farming was first undertaken on the Iranian plateau, people made utensils of baked clay for everyday use.
In fact, Iranian pottery production presents a continuous history from the beginning of Iran’s history until the present day, IranReview reported.
A study of ancient designs shows that ancient Iranians were skillful in designing earthenware and produced their works in a lively manner. Iran can be called the birthplace of designed earthen utensils, as they date back to about 4,000 BC.
The earthenware of those times had been baked carefully in kilns. The designs and forms of these potteries indicate the innovative use of pottery-making devices and methods.

Prehistoric Period
One of the earliest known and excavated prehistoric sites that produced pottery is Ganj Darreh Tappeh in the Kermanshah region, dating back to the 8th millennium BCE.
Another great discovery was made south of the Caspian Sea in a cave, in the so-called Kamarband (Belt cave) near present-day Behshahr. Here again, the pottery dates back to 8000 BCE and is known to experts as “Neolithic Kamarband Pottery”.
The second phase of development in pottery-making in Iran is represented by the wares discovered at Cheshmeh Ali, Tappeh Sialk near Kashan and at Zagheh in the Qazvin plain. The pottery of these places is different from that of the earlier periods.
The substance used is a mixture of clay, straw and small pieces of various plants, which can be found and collected in the desert.
In 4th millennium BCE, it became possible to produce better quality and symmetrically-shaped vessels. The types of pottery also increased considerably.
Around 2nd millennium BCE in most parts of Iran, we have evidence of local pottery manufacture. The vessels usually consist of bowls, pitchers, jugs and jars.
Most of these wares are simple, without any surface decorations. The color of these wares varies from grey to dark grey, red to buff. Some of these have burnished surfaces and are decorated with geometrical patterns.

Achaemenid Period
With the coming to power of Achaemenid Dynasty in 6th century BCE, great advances were made in pottery manufacture. The simple ware became more popular and widespread. It was, nevertheless, in the finer wares that progress is most noticeable.
Shapes and decorations of Achaemenid pottery reveal a close link between pottery-making and metalworking. Frequently, metal shapes and decorations are reproduced successfully in pottery. It is in Achaemenid Dynasty that glazing was introduced into the Iranian plateau.

Sassanian Period
Sassanian pottery can be divided into two major groups: unglazed and glazed wares.
The unglazed ones were mainly of heavily potted red wares. These include large jars, jugs and various types of bowls. They have thick textures and their surfaces reveal intricate incised or stamped decorations, including wavy lines, geometrical patterns, rosettes, or occasionally, even Pahlavi inscriptions.
Glazed pottery, though only the alkaline glaze was used, had advanced. Instead of the Parthian dark green or brownish-yellow glaze, the most important color now becomes turquoise green or turquoise blue. This is to be found on a number of pilgrim flasks, bowls and large storage jars.

Post-Sassanian and Islamic Period
With the advent of Islam during the first half of 7th century CE, pottery production gradually started to change all over the Islamic world.
In the beginning, Iranian potters continued their pre-Islamic traditions and in Iran some of these early wares are known as Sassano-Islamic.
It has been suggested that due to Iran’s contact with the Far East, particularly China, on the one hand and to the restrictions of orthodox Islam on the other, considerable changes gradually took place in pottery-making, and several new types of wares were produced.
Potters of the Near East made several experiments, partly imitating imported Chinese ceramics and partly used their own skill and imagination in inventing new types.
In general, the history of Iranian-Islamic pottery can be divided into three main periods: Post-Sassanian or Early Islamic Period (9th-10th centuries CE), Middle Islamic Period (11th-15th centuries CE) and Late Islamic Period (16th-19th centuries CE).

Safavid Period
The Safavid period was a golden age for Iran, particularly for the arts.
Iranian pottery manufacture gained new impetus. Old techniques were revived and presented, due to the different age and requirements, in a new guise.
The body of these Safavid wares is so delicate and thin, that it comes very close to the imported Chinese porcelain. It is a kind of faience but much more refined than the Persian potteries of Seljuk period.

Zand and Qajar Periods
Post-Safavid pottery has not been seriously studied and the available information is scarce and not very reliable. Yet, we may presume that after the Afghan invasion swept aside the Safavid Dynasty, for a while there was chaos in the country, but pottery production must have continued. The change, or rather the decline, was gradual.

Iranian Recipe

Cabbage Dumplings
Ingredients
Ground beef, 500 grounds (lean)
Cabbage, 1 medium head
Rice, 1/3 cup
Yellow split peas, 1/4 cup
Onion, 1 medium grated
Parsley, 1/2 cup
Cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon
Sugar, 1/3 cup
Salt, 1 teaspoon
Pepper, 1/4 teaspoon
Butter, 2 tablespoons
Oil, 1 tablespoon
Vinegar, 1/3 cup
Water, 1 cup

Direction
Boil yellow peas in water until tender but still firm, drain and place in a large bowl.
Boil rice in salty water until tender but still firm, drain and add to peas.
Saute onions in butter, remove them from frying pan and add to rice and peas.
Place sugar and vinegar in the frying pan with the remaining butter, mix thoroughly and set aside.
In a large bowl, place raw ground beef, peas, rice, chopped parsley and seasonings, and mix thoroughly.
Remove leaves from cabbage one by one, boil in salty water for a few moments.
Remove cabbage leaves from boiling water, careful not to break leaves when gently draining excess water.
Spread a cabbage leaf flat out on a cutting board, place a handful of mixture in the center.
Either roll or fold the leaf so as to contain the mixture.
Place oil in a large casserole dish, place leftover cabbage leaves on the bottom.
Arrange cabbage dumplings in a neat pile in the casserole dish.
Pour sugar and vinegar solution over the dumplings.
Place casserole dish in the oven on high heat for 30 minutes or cook in a pot, on low heat for 45 minutes.

Health Benefits of Cabbage
The health benefits of cabbage include treatment of constipation, stomach ulcers, headache, excess weight, skin disorders, eczema, jaundice, scurvy, rheumatism, arthritis, gout, eye disorders, heart diseases, aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
Did you know that the cheap, humble looking and widely-used cabbage could work miracles? Cabbage is a leafy vegetable of Brassica family, round or oval in shape, consisting of soft light green or whitish inner leaves covered with harder and dark green outer leaves.
It is widely used throughout the world, eaten cooked or raw as salad and is a very popular vegetable.

In this paper
All the papers