A Technological Study of the Turquoise Glazed Potteries Identified From the Excavation of the Historical House of Moravvej-e Ardabili

Glaze is a prepared mixture of materials ready for application to ceramic wares by dipping or spraying. In Islamic period, decoration using the glaze was widespread. Different methods of glazing have played a major role in the beauty of glazed potteries during this period. Turquoise glazed potteries are one the significant groups of Islamic period. In this article, five turquoise glazed pottery sherds have been studied in order to identify their elements, composition and technology. The mentioned sherds dated back to 14 - 18 A.D (late Ilkhanate, Timurid and Safavid periods) , and identified from a historical house called Moravvej-e Ardabili House, in the historical part of Ardabil city. This site identified in a rescue excavation held by HassanYousefi which regarding to the cultural materials dated back to 11 - 18 A.D. The aim of this article is investigating and understanding the similarities and differences in five glazed sherds. Regarding to the mentioned point, XRD analyze applied for characterizing their phases as well as EDX analyze used for identifying the elements of glaze, and also their quantity. This research has an analytical approach and it’s method is based on analytical studies, textual evidences and comparative analyzes. According to the results obtained from analyzes, four glazes have an alkaline based and one has a lead base. Colorant oxides in glazes represent that copper used as the primary element to make the turquoise color. In general, the main elements in glazes include silica, aluminum, calcium, sodium, potassium and a negligible amount of lead. Statistical analyzes represent that the most similarities exist in sample two and sample five which belongs to the same period (late Ilkhanate and Timurid),and the most differences exist in sample four and sample five which dated back to a different periods.