Raqqa, in Syria, had its first Islamic flowering in the late 8th century, when it was the residence of the legendary Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. It experienced a resurgence during the late 12th and early 13th centuries under the Zangids and Ayyubids. Interest in the city was kindled in the West in the late 19th century, by, among other things, the publication of the Arabic literary classic "The Thousand and One Nights", in which Harun al-Rashid was a central character. At the same time, ceramics purportedly connected to the legendary caliph were excavated in Raqqa. Speculation about the site and the objects unearthed there has abounded for more than a century. In this important volume, Marilyn Jenkins-Madina describes the dramatic journey these ceramics took from discovery in Raqqa to the emporiums of Paris and New York, the drawing rooms of great collectors, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Using art historical detective work, archival documents, and scientific data, the author convincingly establishes provenance and dating, placing these beautiful wares in a clear historical context for the first time.
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