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Jar
late 12th-early 13th century




Stone-paste painted in black under turquoise glaze
H: 31.1 W: 21.6 cm
Raqqa, Syria

Gift of Charles Lang Freer F1908.136

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Before the devastating Mongol invasion in the mid-thirteenth century, the city of Rakka in northern Syria became an important ceramic center.

This elegant jar is characteristic of one type of ware associated with Rakka. It is decorated with bold black designs under a transparent turquoise glaze that is often quite thickly applied and appears almost in relief.