The Morphological Analysis of Pottery Pitchers of the Middle Islamic Period of Kashan

Since prehistoric times to the present day making pottery objects has always been a matter of interest to humans, and art derived from the human existential element, the soil, has been a good place for the formation of human artistic creations throughout the history.
Iran's pottery has evolved in various times due to the influence of religious, economic, agricultural and social beliefs. Each pottery is responsive to the inner needs of human, including love and beauty. Applied aspects of pottery art are the manifestations of the scientific response of man to how to meet the material needs of humans. On the other hand, water as a holy element has long been a source of life. Therefore, the pottery made for this holy liquid is considered attentional and it has particular importance among other clay objects in all historical periods. The spectacular examples of these pitchers can be seen in the middle era of Islam. The type of works of this period can lead to its consideration as one of the most prominent artistic periods in Iran. Iran's pottery in the Islamic era has been beautifully shaped, composed and equilibrated, glazed with contrived decorations. The variety of shapes of containers, and the harmony between decoration and shape of the containers are special qualities. In the city of Kashan, many examples of these types of containers have been found from this historical period.
Hence, the morphological analysis of the middle Islamic period was performed with the goals of leading to a deep understanding and a precise introduction of the structural and morphological features of the various shapes of these dishes, as well as answering to the question of how the works of this course form the morphological perspective.
This research, which follows an applied purpose, is conducted using field and library research methods. Data is collected through descriptive-analytical and morphological methods. The samples are non-randomly selected due to the variety of shapes of pottery pitchers, and consist of 40 items from the middle Islamic-period Kashan which are presented in credible books and museums. The morphology of the vessels of this area was analyzed according to the shape of the brim, neck, handle, tube, reservoir and base. The type and variety of each of the components of the shapes were described and analyzed in a table. These containers were first categorized according to the type of handles, and then according to the shape of the containers tubes, then the other elements of these containers were examined. In a partial analysis of the tables, the morphological analysis of the pitchers was paid attention to. Based on this analysis, each of the components of these containers contained various shapes. In case of shape of the crater, the form of an animal, such as cock and mouse, and regarding the human shape, a female portrait were observed. In other cases we saw a circular geometric shape as well as a bowl shape. Regarding the neck morphology, there are cylindrical shapes and in some cases, there is a protuberance and indent which is loop-shaped in junction of the edge to the tank. The categories of the handles of these containers are consisted of arched, angled and looped forms. The tubes in these vessels have a 45-degree angle. Among the available types, pitchers tubes are diagonal, vertical and horizontal. In examining the shape of the reservoir, these pitchers can be spherical, cylindrical, conical and cubically shaped; in other categories of these pitchers, the shapes of onion and pear are also observed. In the case bases of pitchers, there are two general categories of ring and cone.
The results of the research, in addition to providing complete information on the shape of these containers, indicate a great diversity in the shape of these pitchers. Though, in a general look, the variation of the pitchers shapes results from the diversity of their structure which is consisted of a tube, an edge, a handle, a base, and a reservoir, it reflects the creativity of their respected artisans, and also indicates the importance of this category of dishes for artisan as well as the general consumer. The study showed that many of old containers, which may have been simply named with simple applications, include a wide range of shapes which study in the future could lead to a huge breakthrough for contemporary artists and researchers in the field of design, construction, and study of dishes.