نشر ودراسة لمجموعة من الفخار المطلى محفوظة بمتحف کلیة الآثار والسیاحة، الجامعة الأردنیة

Abstract

The first hand data of the author's ongoing study of the glazed pottery collection at the Museum of Archaeology and Tourism Faculty, University of Jordan of a wide range of objects sheds light on cartouches and emir blazons in their historic, art historic, and hierarchal contexts. The study discussed the mentioned collection with additional examples of pictorial blazons attributed by Early Mamluk sultans such as Baybars. The emir blazons in the objects of study are circular and simple characterizing the Muslim heraldry of the Early Mamluk period. They depict solely the heraldic device in a circular shield symbolizing the official post of the emir. None of the emir blazons in the collection represents the advanced phase of Muslim heraldry in which one blazon may depict/represent more than seven heraldic devices serving as "a curriculum vitae" for the present and previous posts of an explicit emir. Such composite blazons are characteristic for the Late Mamluk period (referred to also as Burji period) and hence offer strong evidence for dating to the Early (Bahri) Mamluk period. The calligraphy of the objects is an important primary source for mottos and epithets of the Mamluk emires at that time. They are also evidence for the vessel dating as this study has worked to match the mottos and epithets decorating the objects with other complete and well-dated inscriptions in architecture and material culture. Finally, the blazons and calligraphy are solid dating evidence for the objects' technology and typology and hence provide important primary data for further studies in Mamluk history, art history and Mamluk organizational behavior

Keywords

• Islamic Art
• Glazed Pottery
• Heraldry
• Mamluk history