Synopses & Reviews
Raqqa, in Syria, had its first Islamic flowering in the late 8th century, when it was the residence of the legendary Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. It experienced a resurgence during the late 12th and early 13th centuries under the Zangids and Ayyubids.and#160; Interest in the city was kindled in the West in the late 19th century, by, among other things, the publication of the Arabic literary classic
The Thousand and One Nights, in which Harun al-Rashid was a central character. At the same time, ceramics purportedly connected to the legendary caliph were excavated in Raqqa.and#160; Speculation about the site and the objects unearthed there has abounded for more than a century.
In this important volume, Marilyn Jenkins-Madina describes the dramatic journey these ceramics took from discovery in Raqqa to the emporiums of Paris and New York, the drawing rooms of great collectors, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.and#160;Using art historical detective work, archival documents, and scientific data, the author convincingly establishes provenance and dating, placing these beautiful wares in a clear historical context for the first time.
Synopsis
Bold, sophisticated, engaging, and startlingly modern, Buncheong ceramics emerged as a distinct Korean art form in the 15th and 16th centuries, only to be eclipsed on its native ground for more than 400 years by the overwhelming demand for porcelain. Elements from the Buncheong idiom were later revived in Japan, where its spare yet sensual aesthetic was much admired and where descendants of Korean potters lived and worked.
This innovative study features 60 masterpieces from the renowned Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul, as well as objects from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and presents current scholarship on Buncheong's history, manufacture, use, and overall significance. The book illustrates why this historical art form continues to resonate with Korean and Japanese ceramists working today and with contemporary viewers worldwide.
About the Author
Marilyn Jenkins-Madina is curator emerita of Islamic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and co-author, with Richard Ettinghausen and Oleg Grabar, of Islamic Art and Architecture 650-1250 (Yale).