080075 UE Practice and History of Lustreware in Medieval Islam: Learning bei Doing (2017S)

Aims and content:
This joint teaching course approaches the study of historic arts and crafts from the joint perspectives of an art historian (Markus Ritter) and an artisan and craftsman (Abbas Akbari, University of Kashan, Iran). The late medieval art and technique of lustre glazed ceramics, or lustreware, in both the Persian and Arab spheres, will be explored through "learning by doing" and "kinesthetic learning." An introductory module will survey the relevant historical and theoretical framework. The second module will put medieval techniques into practice: the participants will produce lustreware – from potting and raw firing to glazing and lustre painting, and to the construction of a scpecial type kiln for lustre firing.

Lustre ceramics count among the most precious and sought after luxury objects in Arab and Persian cultures from the medieval to the early modern periods. Ceramics with lustre glazing exhibit a characteristic metallic gloss expediting an iridescence of light reflected in various colours. This effect results from the use of a highly specialized technique. The relevant skills were generally passed on in confidence within workshops rather than committed to writing. Lustre glaze is made from metal oxides, from which the oxygen is removed (reduced) in a specific way of firing. This results in an extremely thin metal film of not more than few atoms thickness. The light effects and the seeming transformation into gold, silver, or copper account for the specific aesthetics of lustre ceramics. From the viewpoint of art history, lustre ceramics provide an example of diffusion of techniques and luxury objects within the Islamic sphere and further on into Europe. The lustre technique was established as a technique for the refinement of ceramics in Abbasid Iraq in the ninth century and spread to other regions of the Arab empire. Technical skills were disseminated to Egypt, North Africa, Andalusia and Iran. In each of these places stylistically diverse traditions of lustre working sprang up. During the Renaissance the Spanish tradition was exported to Italy as "maiolica," where it provided the grounds for a European production.

Teaching programme:
A
1) Lustreware: History and Theory I (Department of Art History, IX)
Ceramic production in Islamic Western Asia: introduction to history, formal vocabulary, and techniques
Historiography: the modern re-discovery of lustreware by collecting and scholarship
Training of formal and technical description of ceramics using original ceramic shards:
2) Evolution and Spread of Lustreware: characteristics of technique and style through history and regions (Department of Art History, IX)
3) Medieval Lustreware in Iran: History and Theory II (Department of Art History, IX)
Rehearsal of previous themes with particular view to ceramics in Iran: discussion

B
4) Potting (pottery studio, XX)
5) Glazing (pottery studio, XX)
Build lustre kiln (Zacherl Factory XIX)
6) Reserve day
7) Lustre Painting (pottery studio, XX)
Lustre firing I (Zacherl Factory, XIX)
8) Lustre firing II (Zacherl Factory) - half day
9) Evaluate & Clean Up

C
10) t.b.a., 2-3 h written assignment

Teaching methods:
History and theory - collective reading, student presentations, and lecturing.
Practical part - manual work guided by lecturer.