The
right hall of the entrance (Ground floor ) is allocated to exhibit
many master pieces of : plates,
jars, ollas (jars) opening feltiration, vessels bottom and oil lamps.
The
importance of this gallery is related to luster Ceramics which is
considered one of the unique Islamic inventions and never used in the
pre-Islamic civilization
That
luster ceramics can be classified into two periods, the early and the
later phase. In the first one the ceramist “Mousallam Ibn Aldahan”
is well known, while “Saad” is in the second. The former school
used smoking in giving the piece in the second burning its metalic
sheen’ while the latest used a developed compound of oxides metal
including the elements of deoxidisation and burn the products in an
oxide atmosphere according to the progress of chemistry.
By that the ceramists adds the deoxidising element in the oily mixture
to paint over the opaque metallic glaze. In Mousallam’s school they
used the golden colors begin from light to dark yellow and also the
copper colors. On the other hand’ Saad’s one was distinguished
with the olive color on a copper or turquoise colors as a background.
Through
that stage ceramists may use two colors over the glaze. Both schools
are varied in their decorations, they include human, animals, birds,
fish, plants, arabesques and geometric formations.
In
addition to the luster metallic glaze, there was a lot of
ceramics’styles including the Bas- relief decoration under the
glaze.
The
Fatimid ceramists characterized by elegant sense, accuracy and perfect
imagination which is shown in ollas’ opining feltriation
. Mostly – they have been made of pottery- the aim was to
satisfy the drinking person in addition to sub-functions as to avoid
insects while drinking. One of the most famous ones is exhibited in
“ Museum of Islamic Ceramics” It is a picture of peacock and made
in the Fatimid era.
The
simplest style of ceramic was entitled
“Al Fayoum Ceramic” It has lines, dots and simple drawing
using white, yellow, green, and brown
colors. This kind is suggested to be of the 12th century
imitating imported ceramics. Although some Archeologists stated that
there was no colored ceramics at the Islamic age, and what is
suggested to be founded in Al Fayoum was from excavations of Al
Fustat.