Ceramic Art of the Safavid Period in Iran Semi Porcelains The ceramic art of the Safavid period may be divided into t\\o groups. One group has purely Safavid decoration, which is
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known to us from manuscript illumination, rugs, and textiles. The other group imitates Mini porcelain, for the Iranian potters of the sixteenth century continued attempts to produce true porcelain in imitation of Chinese were, which was great admired by the Safavid rulers. Shah Abbas (1587-1628) imported great quantities of Chinese porcelains, and even Chinese potters. As in the Timurid period, in the first half of the sixteenth century only the decoration was Chinese, the body consisting of soft brown earthenware similar to other Iranian pottery of the ”Kubatcha” type.
Two plates of this early variety, in which the Chinese design is adapted to Iranian style, are in the Museum toward the end of the sixteenth century, probably under Shah Abbas, the potters achieved a Semi porcelain, which, although not so hard as true porcelain, often closely approached the true porcelain. Sometimes the imitation was so well done that many Iranian pieces have been mistaken for Chinese, often even fake Chinese characters are placed on the bottom of the vessels. These Safavid semi porcelains vary in quality of design and style. The best pieces date from the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a gradual decline having begun in the eighteenth century. The Chinese design is often combined with Iranian motives, as in three splendid bottles in the Museum, two of which are decorated with carefully drawn storks and arabesque mediations in blue with the addition of brown. The usual decoration consists of Chinese landscapes with birds and animals, Chinese symbols, and cloud bands familiar from Ming porcelains.2
