Visiting Manet/Degas?
You must join the virtual queue. Read the additional visitor guidelines.
Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn (2006)
This title is out of print.
The city of Raqqa, situated on the Euphrates River in present-day Syria, had its first Islamic flowering in the late eighteenth century, when it was the residence of the legendary Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. It experienced a resurgence during the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, but was destroyed in 1265. Little is mentioned about Raqqa in Muslim sources after its medieval renaissance, but interest in the city was kindled in the West at the end of the nineteenth century, when curiosity about the Islamic world was inspired by travel to the Middle East and by the vast travel literature that it spawned. Interest was also fueled by the translation into French and English of the Arabic literary classic The Thousand and One Nights, in which Harun al-Rashid was a central character. As this collection of stories was becoming a best seller in the West, ceramic objects were being brought out from Raqqa that dealers and auction houses were connecting to this very caliph, and a buying spree for the ware ensued.
Among the wealthy collectors who developed a passion for these objects were two important donors to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Louisine and Horace Havemeyer, and eventually a large number of ceramic objects from their collection were given to the Museum, helping to make the Metropolitan's holdings of this ware the world's most important.
What follows in these pages is the often mesmerizing chronicle of ceramic objects unearthed in Raqqa in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, Curator Emerita of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum, describes the dramatic journey of these ceramics from their discovery in the medieval city to the emporiums of Paris and New York, the drawing rooms of the great collectors, and the galleries of the Metropolitan Museum. Using art-historical detective work, archival documents, and scientific data, the author convincingly establishes provenance and dating, placing these objects—some of the most exquisite ever produced by Islamic potters—in a secure historical context for the first time.
Director's ForewordPhilippe de Montebello
AcknowledgmentsMap: Central Islamic Lands in the Medieval Islamic PeriodIntroduction
1. The Lore and Lure of Raqqa
2. Raqqa Demythologized
3. The Rejects of Raqqa
4. Raqqa Ceramics in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
5. Patterns, Profiles, and Provenance
6. The Period of Production
Epilogue
Appendix 1: The Ottoman Response to Illicit Digging in RaqqaAyşin Yoltar-Yildirim
Appendix 2: Compositional Analysis of Early-Thirteenth-Century Ceramics from Raqqa and Related SitesDylan T. Smith
ConcordanceBibliography of Works CitedIndexPhotograph Credits
Marilyn Jenkins-Madina is co-author, with Richard Ettinghausen and Oleg Grabar, of Islamic Art and Architecture 650–1250 (Yale University Press/Pelican History of Art).
Print Titles
Allan, James W. Nishapur: Metalwork of the Early Islamic Period. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982. See more
Bloom, Jonathan M., Ahmed Toufiq, Stefano Carboni, Jack Soultanian, Antoine M. Wilmering, Mark D. Minor, Andrew Zawacki, and El Mostafa Hbibi. The Minbar from the Kutubiyya Mosque. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998. See more
Breck, Joseph and Frances Morris. The James F. Ballard Collection of Oriental Rugs. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, October, 1923 See more
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014.
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Campbell, Thomas P. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Canby, Sheila R. The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp: The Persian Book of Kings. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. See more
Day, Florence E. "Mesopotamian manuscripts of Dioscorides." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 8, no. 9 (May, 1950). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1950. See more
Dimand, M. S. A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930. See more
Dimand, Maurice Sven. "A Saljuk Incense Burner." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 10, no. 5 (January, 1952). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1952. See more
Dimand, Maurice Sven. "An Enameled-Glass Bottle of the Mamluk Period." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 3, no. 3 (November, 1944). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944. See more
Dimand, Maurice Sven. "Saljuk Bronzes From Khurasan." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 4, no. 3 (November, 1945). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1945. See more
Dimand, Maurice Sven. Persian Miniatures: A Picture Book. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, 1940 See more
Ettinghausen, Richard. "Islamic Art." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 33, no. 1 (Spring, 1975). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. See more
Ettinghausen, Richard. "The Flowering of Seljuq Art." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 3 (1970). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970. See more
Galitz, Kathryn Calley. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, 2016 See more
Jenkins, Marilyn. "Islamic Glass: A Brief History." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 44, no. 2 (Autumn, 1986). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. See more
Jenkins, Marilyn. "Muslim: An Early Fatimid Ceramist." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 26, no. 9 (May, 1968). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1968. See more
Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn. Raqqa Revisted: Ceramics of Ayyubid Syria. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006. See more
Kern, Karen M., Yael Rosenfield, Federico Carò, and Nobuko Shibayama. "The Sacred and the Modern: The History, Conservation, and Science of the Madina Sitārah": Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 52 (2017). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017. See more
Knauer, Elfriede Regina. "Marble Jar-Stands from Egypt." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 14 (1979). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979. See more
Komaroff, Linda, and Stefano Carboni, eds., with essays by Morris Rossabi, Charles Melville, James C. Y. Watt, Tomoko Masuya, Sheila Blair, Robert Hillenbrand, Sarah Bertalan, John Hirx, Marco Leona, Pieter Meyers, Linda Komaroff, and Stefano Carboni. The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256–1353. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002. See more
Komaroff, Linda. "Pen-Case and Candlestick: Two Sources for the Development of Persian Inlaid Metalwork." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 23 (1988). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1988. See more
Pease, Murray. "Two Bowls In One." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 16, no. 8 (April, 1958). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1958. See more
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Iranian Expedition, 1938-1940." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 37, no. 4 (April, 1942). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1942.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Part 2: The Iranian Expedition 1937. Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 33, no. 12 (November, 1938). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1938.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Part 2: the Iranian Expedition, 1936. Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 32, no. 10 (October, 1937). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1937.
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "Chessmen and Chess." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 1, no. 9 (May, 1943). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943. See more
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "Fashion and Technique in Persian Pottery." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 6, no. 3 (November, 1947). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1947. See more
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "Life in Early Nishapur." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 9, no. 2 (October, 1950). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1950. See more
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "The Glazed Pottery of Nishapur and Samarkand." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 20, no. 3 (November, 1961). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1961. See more
Wilkinson, Charles Kyrle. "The Kilns of Nishapur." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 17, no. 9 (May, 1959). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1959. See more
Online Titles
"The Art of the Ayyubid Period (ca. 1171–1260)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Fatimid Period (909–1171)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256–1353)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Mamluk Period (1250–1517)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Seljuq Period in Anatolia (1081–1307)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
"The Art of the Seljuqs of Iran (ca. 1040–1157)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Courtly Art of the Ilkhanids." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Folios from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Folios from the Jami' al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "Takht-i Sulayman and Tile Work in the Ilkhanid Period." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "The Art of the Book in the Ilkhanid Period." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "The Mongolian Tent in the Ilkhanid Period." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Carboni, Stefano and Qamar Adamjee. "The Religious Arts under the Ilkhanids." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Department of Islamic Art. "The Art of the Almoravid and Almohad Periods (ca. 1062–1269)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Department of Islamic Art. "The Art of the Nasrid Period (1232–1492)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Ekhtiar, Maryam and Julia Cohen. "Early Qur'ans (8th–early 13th centuries)." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Rugiadi, Martina. "Poetic License." 82nd & Fifth. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013. See more
Sardar, Marika. "Islamic Art of the Deccan." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Williams, Elizabeth. "Baths and Bathing Culture in the Middle East: The Hammam." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. See more
Aanavi, Don, Linda Lee Boyer, Fong Chow, Dudley T. Easby, Jr., Yvonne Hackenbroch, Marilyn Jenkins, and John Goldsmith Phillips. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 26, no. 9 (May, 1968). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1968. See more
Jenkins, Marilyn, and Manuel Keene. Islamic Jewelry in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983. See more
Jenkins, Marilyn. "Islamic Pottery: A Brief History." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 40, no. 4 (Spring, 1983). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983. See more