Material · Ceramic

Clay & frit body

خاک رس

Earthenware and quartz-rich frit bodies underlie Persian glazed ware and architectural tile.

Origin

Local beds near Kashan, Meybod, Hamadan and Lalejin.

Properties

  • Plastic when wet
  • Frit bodies fire whiter
  • Supports thin glazes
  • Low fired strength

Preparation

Weathered, levigated, wedged, then thrown or pressed and biscuit-fired.

Care & preservation

Support weight fully when handling; glaze crazing traps soluble salts.

General guidance only. For valuable or fragile pieces, consult a qualified conservator before cleaning or treatment.

Used in these crafts

Haft-rang tilework

Square polychrome tiles painted with several overglaze colours and fired together, allowing large architectural schemes to be produced faster than cut tile mosaic.

Moarraq tile mosaic

A technique of architectural revetment in which monochrome glazed tiles are cut into small individual pieces to a template and set together, glaze face down, into a mortar bed to form complex polychrome patterns and inscriptions.

Mina'i ware

A historic overglaze-enamelled stonepaste ware produced mainly in Iran during the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, decorated with figural and courtly scenes painted in multiple colours applied after glazing and fixed by a low second firing.

Lalejin pottery

A regional pottery tradition centred on the town of Lalejin near Hamadan, producing thrown and press-moulded glazed and unglazed earthenware, from utilitarian storage vessels to decorative tableware, in a large number of household workshops.