“Islamic potters used cobalt on creamy white tin-glazed ware to great effect. Images of people and animals were considered idolatrous and were forbidden, but as is often the case, restrictions led to creative solutions. Working within the rules of their religious leaders, Islamic potters covered their wares with curvaceous calligraphy, delicate flowers, leafy vines, and intricate geometric patterns. . . .

Lustreware was an innovative answer to the stricture against metal tableware. Islamic potters discovered that if they painted designs on their already fired pots using powdered gold or silver or copper (metal oxides) mixed with a bit of water and perhaps clay, and then refired these pots at low temperatures in a reducing (smoky) kiln, the designs emerged from the kiln with a soft metallic sheen.

Lustreware is more understated than brightly gilt enamels or shiny metal pots, and has a rich and subtle complexity of tones that can only be achieved with skillful firing.”

—Suzanne Stauback, from Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind’s Relationship with Earth’s Most Primal Element, 2005.