A rare Fatimid green-glazed earthenware jar, Egypt, 10-11th century

of wide baluster form with everted foot and flat base, the sloping shoulder leading up to a short waisted neck and everted rim, incised to the shoulder with a narrow band of zig-zag pattern, dipped in copper green lead glaze with pooling and dripping down the walls stopping short of the foot

Green glazed incised ware from Fatimid Egypt has been described by Oliver Watson as "one of the 'hidden treasures' of Islamic pottery" (Watson 2004, p.285).  Surprisingly little is known about this category of wares, for although it is well-attested in the Fustat sherd material, intact examples are extremely rare. The type was first properly documented by Helen Philon (Philon 1980, p.263ff) who noted the characteristic soft pinkish buff to pale-yellow body and the lead-fluxed copper glaze which typically stops short of, or dribbles messily over, the foot, as seen here.

The finest extant example is in the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait (Watson 2004, pp.284-5), attributed by Watson to the 12th century. The present example is closer in shape to the lustre jars of the Fatimid period and is likely to be an earlier form dating to the 10-11th century. A thermo-luminescence analysis report from Oxford gives an estimated date of last firing between 600 and 1000 years ago.