Abstract: | The glazes and bodies of fifteen Persian ceramic objects datable to c. A.D. 1300 were analysed by X-ray fluorescent and optical emission spectroscopyin order to test the veracity of parts of Abū'l-Qāsim's treatise on pottery manufacture. The results showed that the bodies of these pots were closely akin to so-called Egyptian faience, and it is suggested on the basis of textual evidence that this body was used in Persia before the Seljuq period to imitate Chinese pottery, and may have been developed either from beads or glass. |