Between al-Andalus and Genoa: The “Embriaci Tower” Lustreware

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article examines a set of lustreware pottery discovered in the fill of the tower belonging to the Genoese family, the Embriaci. The finds are datable to the mid-thirteenth century, characterised by decorative patterns which are atypical in lustreware production in al-Andalus, though some comparisons can be drawn with the decorative patterns of the “vasos de la Alhambra” and the pottery known as “nazarí primitive”. The context of the discovery in Genoa will briefly be outlined, including the story of the family settlement (Part 1), the stratigraphic sequence (Part 2), and the stylistic connections to other pottery characterising it (Part 3). The formal and decorative elements characterising the lustreware pottery found in the Embriaci Tower will then be examined and compared (Part 4) with finds from the Upper Tyrrhenian region (Provence, Savona, Pisa). Part 5 will suggest that the finds are a specific type of decorated lustreware produced in the thirteenth century in al-Andalus (Murcia, Málaga and Almería). The concluding part (Part 6) will investigate the meaning of the presence of the set of imported ceramics in the “curia” of the Embriaci family in Genoa.This type of pottery has only been discovered hitherto in excavation finds and architectural contexts (the so called “bacini”) in Italy and France. The identification of decorative and formal elements characterising this “group” of pottery will allow the identification of examples of this production outside of Italy and France. The publication of the findings will provide new data to develop an archaeological overview of commercial contacts between al-Andalus and the Tyrrhenian area (Provence, Liguria, Tuscany) during the thirteenth century.