A city in the southern suburbs of Tehran, the capital of Iran. As the capital of the Seljuk dynasty from around the 9th century, it was considered the second most beautiful city after Baghdad. It is recorded that the city was prosperous with many ornately decorated mosques. In the midst of this prosperity, the pottery industry flourished. However, this beautiful city was destroyed by the westward expansion of the Mongols. The pottery of Rey, along with that of Kashan, is typical of medieval Persian pottery. Many luster-glazed tiles and vessels were produced, some with large single patterns, and others with a highly pictorial style, skillfully blending a white ground with a luster glaze. In particular, the use of luster glaze in a detailed miniature style began to develop at the end of the 12th century. The technique of combining luster and blue-green glazes also began around the same time. Many star-shaped tiles were decorated with blue-green patterns around the perimeter and miniature luster paintings in the center, but at the same time, the quality of these tiles began to decline due to competition with Kashan products. This was followed by the influence of the authors of decorative books on ceramics. The Minai technique, in which the base was covered with an opaque white tin or cream glaze and then overglazed with miniature paintings, was introduced.
Today, Rey is only a small market and no pottery is produced. Nearby is the famous Zoroastrian burial tower (Pope, A.). (Pope, A.U. “ASurveyofPersianArt”)
