Page 313 - Life & Land Use on the Bahrain Islands (Curtis E Larsen)

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importance for this period are brown-glazed stonewares of probable southeast
Asian origin. Although not shown on Figure 55, these, like the Ming dynasty blue
and white, arc found only in Levels A and B.

Chinese-Influenced Pottery
As in the medieval period, imported Chinese pottery forms were imitated by local
potters. Lane (1957:25) feels that local copies of blue and white wares were
produced throughout the Middle East by the beginning of the fifteenth century. An
example of locally produced blue and white ware is shown in Figure 68f. This is a
close copy of the Ming porcelain base shown in Figure 68e. The paste used in these
copies is an easily recognizable, brittle, buff ware. Other examples are illustrated
in Figure 68g and h. The former is an imitation celadon bowl covered with a gray-
green glaze. The latter has no direct Chinese parallel, but is related by paste to
the imitated blue and whites. Lane (1957) notes that celadons were imitated in
Persia beginning in the fourteenth century and continued into the sixteenth
century. The imitations described here are found only on the surface and within
the uppermost level at Qala'at al-Bahrain, and above the first occurrence of Ming

Figure 69: Late Islamic Plain Wares

a. 518.BA, Profile, Level A; sand-tempered, light brown ware with large
angular white grits.
b. 518.BC, Profile, Level B; sand-tempered, light brown ware with large
angular white grits.
c. 518.BC, Profile, Level B; sand-tempered, light brown ware with large
angular white grits.
d. 518.BA, Profile, Level A; buff slip on light brown ware.
e. 518.BA, Profile, Level A; greenish buff slip on light brown ware.
f. 518.BC, Profile, Level B; red surface on sand-tempered, gray-brown ware.
g. 518.A, Pit 1, Level 1; gray-green ware.
h. 518.B, Pit 1, Level lg; red ware.
i. 518.BC, Profile, Level B; coarse sand-tempered, gray-red ware.
j. 518.BA, Profile, Level A; sand-tempered, light red ware.