Alibaba Jar

sketchfab

This jar alludes to the riveting tale of Alibaba and the Forty Thieves from the Arabian Nights, a collection of stories with roots in Persian and Arabic folklore that stretch as far back as the 14th century. Cobalt, barium and copper glazes have yielded intense blues and rich, earthy and golden tones. Its lush colours and crusty, crumbly surfaces evoke the sense of a distant but bewitching and wondrous realm of the Arabian Nights. This vessel suggests the drama of the tale’s forty thieves smuggling themselves in large oil jars in a nefarious plot to kill Alibaba. Dr Iskandar’s jar is a voluptuous form with sensuous contours. Its tiny neck and small mouth magnify its broad, ample shoulders. The swelling of form at its shoulder tapers subtly from its waist to its base. Resting on its shoulders are two lugs or small handles. Lugs are traditionally used to hoist or lift a vessel with cords or straps but are also used for aesthetic purposes.