Ceramic art is considered a part of Islamic art. Islamic pottery was one of the arts and crafts that flourished in the Islamic world from the time of Mahomet, the founder of Islam, in the first half of the 7th century to around the 17th or 8th century. Islamic art is sometimes referred to as Saracenic art or Mall art, but these are only names from Europe in a narrower sense. Therefore, the term Islamic art has gradually come to be used. The Islamic sphere extends from Southeast Asia to African countries, Spain, and Morocco, but when we refer to Islamic art, we mean that of the Islamic world from Pakistan to the west and the Mediterranean coast. Although Islam united all cultures and lifestyles through its holy book, the Koran, the uniqueness of the cultures of the various peoples was demonstrated during the period of the Koran. The use of geometric patterns such as arabesques in patterns and the prohibition of concrete representations of living creatures are characteristic of Islamic art, but this does not necessarily apply to Iran. There are any number of Iranian ceramics that use human and animal figures in their designs, and these are thought to have been influenced by the Sasanian culture. Islamic cathedral mosques are often decorated with beautiful tiles, which fully demonstrate the fine craftsmanship of Islamic pottery. Inside the mosque there is a mihrab, which represents the direction of Mecca when praying, and tiles are often used to decorate it, often with verses from the Koran. The use of Quranic scriptures as patterns is a characteristic of Islamic art, and is also found in many examples of pottery. The development of Islamic ceramics was based on Sasanian techniques in the east and Syrian and Byzantine techniques in the west. These included the use of tin to produce white glazes, the use of cobalt and copper to produce blue colors, luster glazes, blue-green alkali glazes, the mixing of metals to produce red and yellowish-brown colors, the use of molded decoration and green glazes, and the use of three-color style colored glazes. These were the basis for the production of magnificent Islamic ceramics. Some believe that the method of underglaze glaze painting, which involves painting under a transparent glaze, was discovered in the Islamic pottery world. Around the 11th century, there were many exchanges with Chinese ceramics, and especially after the westward expansion of Mongolia, the influence of Chinese ceramics became stronger. At the end of the 16th century, Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty invited many craftsmen from China to work on pottery production, and many blue-, red-, and blue-and-white style ceramics were produced. Some of them were exported to Europe via Batavia, and an average of 150 pieces were exported every year for about 25 years. All of them had Chinese-style patterns. However, due to the difference between porcelain and ceramics and the small quantity, it seems that Chinese-style Islamic ceramics did not compete with Chinese porcelain for the European market. On the other hand, it is also clear that Islamic pottery design had a reverse influence on the Chinese. The design of Yuan and Ming dynasty underglaze blue, in which the surface space of the vessel is geometrically and precisely divided, and the design is so tightly packed that there are no gaps, is similar to the sense seen in Islamic ceramics. The use of auspicious symbols, such as “奉寿” and “万年無窮,” in the design can also be seen as an influence of Islamic ceramics, which use scriptures in their designs.
