Spanish Luxury Pottery from the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century Excavated at the Genoese Castle of Cembalo

Abstract

This paper analyses the Hispano-Moresque pottery with luster painting which was obtained by the castle of Cembalo from the second half of the fourteenth to fifteenth century. The excavation materials comprise of a few types of ceramic ware: pitchers, several types of bowls, and plates (dishes). The parallels to the ware in question appeared in a large tract of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, Eastern Europe, and the Golden Horde lands. The said vessels were popular on such a wide territory due to their unusually picturesque ornamental design. Parade Spanish ceramic ware appeared in the castle of Cembalo in result of the Genoese merchants’ active trading in the Black Sea area, where it was used as present and commodity. This ware penetrated into the area in question from the mid- or the second half of the fourteenth century on, according to the finds of the Pula group. The most of the fragments excavated dates from the fifteenth century. The Spanish ceremonial ware continued to penetrate to the Crimea, the castle of Cembalo in particular, even after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. The latest finds date from the third quarter or late fifteenth century.