From Ordinary to Luxury

"188 pieces of glazed and unglazed pottery from The University Museum of Islamic Art are studied and grouped into categories of surface treatment. The collection's asset is its wide range of medieval material, geographically spreading from Iran through the today Central Asian republics as far as Afghanistan. Apart from that it is made up of what we would call the more common performance of pottery. Siméon's archaeological approach to the material develops the material as a prime source of information on provenance, distribution and trade. Archaeological data furthermore provide answers to questions of the art historian on the development and diffusion of motifs, spread of techniques and the relationship to other materials. Through the mutual approach the author is able to explore social, economic and artistic aspects of historical societies"