Earthenware bowl, with carved decoration in a white slip under a green glaze. Garrus type
The sgraffito technique, in which a pattern is carved through a light slip, revealing the darker color of the underlying clay, was known in Iraq and Iran from the 9th century.
A variant of this type – using the champlevé technique – was developed in the district of Garrus, southwest of the Caspian Sea, in the 12th century. Larger areas of the slip were scraped away, and when they were filled with glaze, the recesses frequently served as the background for the main motif, often an animal. The type was quite popular, and a number of the more imaginative patterns have since been found to be forgeries.
A variant of this type – using the champlevé technique – was developed in the district of Garrus, southwest of the Caspian Sea, in the 12th century. Larger areas of the slip were scraped away, and when they were filled with glaze, the recesses frequently served as the background for the main motif, often an animal. The type was quite popular, and a number of the more imaginative patterns have since been found to be forgeries.