The origins of any craft are myriad, and lustreware is no exception. Strong associations between Islamic lustrewares and Chinese ceramics have long been recognized by art historians. Trade, diplomacy and warfare had traveled the Silk Road between the far and near east at least since the 2nd century BC.
A direct connection between Islamic and Chinese craftsmen was reported in historic records of the Tang dynasty in China. In 751 AD several Tang Dynasty craftsmen including one named Tou Houang were kidnapped from their workshops near Samarkand after the Battle of Talas. These men were brought to Baghdad where they were kept for eleven years, working closely with Abbasid craftsmen before they were released to return to China. It is also possible that Islamic potters moved (voluntarily or not) to China to work there--the only reason we know of Tou Houang at all is from his extant report to his government after he returned.
The Tang dynasty Sancai ceramic tradition illustrated in the photograph above is similar in style to early Islamic lustres, in that they are both vividly polychrome vessels on a white ceramic body. While the Sancai ceramic tradition was begun a century or two earlier than lustre, there are some comparable production techniques. The Tang produced cobalt-blue painted and glazed pottery, cobalt which had been imported from Iran. Tang colors were obtained by painting the vessels with cobalt oxides (blue), copper oxides (green), lead antimonate (yellow), iron oxides (red), and so on. A glaze was applied on top of the paint and then the vessel was fired to melt the glaze. The paint compounds dissolved into the glaze and produced the visible colors.
This process is similar to what was being accomplished in the Islamic Umayyad period prior to the Abbasid lustres. The colorfully glazed ceramics were produced beginning in the 7th century AD, and most probably in a clear connection with Chinese potters. However, these procedures are different from the lustre technique.
Sources
This project is based on the ongoing research of Trinitat Pradell and colleagues. The main sources utilized for the project are listed on the definition page for lustreware. A timeline for the Islamic civilization is also available for consultation.
An excellent source for further information about Islamic ceramics in general with much data on lustres is the Ashmolean Museum's Web-Based Teaching Course on Islamic Ceramics.
