Introducing the Pure Manifestations of Qajar pottery

Qajar period is recognized as a time of significant changes in Persian arts. Perhaps the most obvious change was the influence of European arts especially on architecture, painting as well as pottery. However after Safavid period as to several inside and outside factors, amongst them vast importation of porcelain wares, Iran was faced with stagnation of pottery’s art but this doesn’t mean the annihilation of this art and product of several porcelains with different style of imported examples continued Iranian identity of this art. At early Qajar period, about first half of 12th after Hijrah yet some wares were produced in Safavid style but after that especially from mid Qajar period, some wares were produced in particular Style of Qajar till now are unknown. Unfortunatly the ceramic wares have not been completely classified or studied nor have their production centers been fully listed. Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, and Nāiin appear to have been the main centers. Apart from unglazed earthenware pottery, with their virtually unchanged functions and shapes, Qajar ceramics may tentatively be classified into three main groups. The first group includes Vessels made in a thin, textured white composite clay and frit paste with a thin alkaline glaze and rather sketchy floral designs in blue, purple, brown, and olive green, probably produced in the early 19th century. Related to them technically is a distinctive group made at Nāiin with designs painted in blue and black employing a repertoire of motifs such as sprigs of flowers and Chinese-style willow patterns, possibly influenced by contemporary Staffordshire imports, fish motifs and stepped lozenge bands. The seconde group includes Bowls, jars, and jugs were made in a buff earthenware decorated with overglaze enamels in a palette of bright pink, blue, yellow, green, and black. The crudely executed designs of butterflies, floral borders, and groups of pagodas inhabited by people in Chinese dress, are mainly of interest because they are derived from Chinese “famille-rose” porcelain. The third group includes More sophisticated underglaze-painted wares were made in Tehran from about 1880 onward. Using a body fabric of hard white composite clay and frit paste, and designs painted in muted color schemes, they resemble the underglaze-painted tilework that came into fashion at that time. The ware was shaped into elegant if somewhat contrived chalice- and shield-shaped vases and painted with fluent patterns based on floral and leaf scroll and peony blossoms—motifs used as background fillings to tile designs. This survey is a search in different dimensions of Qajar pottery based on several peculiar examples Qajar wares that we can name them as courtier wares. In this way, characteristics of several examples of wares often in some foreign museums as Victoria and Albert and Taregh Rajab in Kuwait have surveyed. Toward the results, in contrary of continuation of Safavid period’s pottery in Qajar period as well as effect of European countries, Qajar pottery have peculiar characteristics in form and decoration that convinced us revision to pottery of this period.