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Where fine clay was unavailable, potters made a paste out of ground quartz, clay, and glass. When fired, the paste created a compact white material called <em>fritware</em> that approximated the appearance of porcelain.
Syria (Raqqa), Ayyubid Period
fritware with glaze
Diameter of mouth: 16 cm (6 5/16 in.); Overall: 48.2 cm (19 in.); Diameter of base: 14 cm (5 1/2 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Jacques Guay carved cameo portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette, though it is not known whether he is the author of this one. The carver took advantage of the natural striations of color in the stone to differentiate between the two figures: the queen and her son, the dauphin (1785–95), who would have become Louis XVII, but for the French Revolution. Such a ring might have been worn by a courtier or, after the Revolution, by a royalist sympathizer. The cameo is surrounded by a border of diamond sparks in silver mounts. The forked shoulders each enclose a tulip originally set with a crystal.
H: 3/4 × W: 13/16 × D: 13/16 in. (1.9 × 2 × 2.1 cm)
medium: sardonyx, gold, silver, diamonds
given to Walters Art Museum, 1947.
This scene features a standing god in horned headdress and long robe, with one foot resting on an animal. He is holding a mace in his outstretched hand. A second deity in horned headdress and long tufted robe faces the goddess with both hands raised. In the field between them is a star cradled in a disc. The scene also incorporates a cuneiform inscription in five registers.
Cylinder seals are cylindrical objects carved in reverse (intaglio) in order to leave raised impressions when rolled into clay. Seals were generally used to mark ownership, and they could act as official identifiers, like a signature, for individuals and institutions. A seal’s owner rolled impressions in wet clay to secure property such as baskets, letters, jars, and even rooms and buildings. This clay sealing prevented tampering because it had to be broken in order to access a safeguarded item. Cylinder seals were often made of durable material, usually stone, and most were drilled lengthwise so they could be strung and worn. A seal’s material and the images inscribed on the seal itself could be protective. The artistry and design might be appreciated and considered decorative as well. Cylinder seals were produced in the Near East beginning in the fourth millennium BCE and date to every period through the end of the first millennium BCE.
Babylonian
H: 1 x Diam: 7/16 in. (2.6 x 1.2 cm)
medium: hematite
culture: Babylonian
Walters Art Museum, 1941, by purchase.