Vessel Fragment with Fleur-de-lis Emblems

<p>This ceramic fragment was decorated using sgraffito, a technique in which an artist applied a colored slip or glaze to pottery, then incised it to reveal the contrasting color of the clay underneath. This fragment once formed part of a dish made in Fustat (now Cairo), Egypt, the capital of the Mamluk dynasty (1250–1517), whose rule extended beyond the modern borders of Egypt into the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula.</p> <p>The repeated emblem on the edge of this bowl likely represents a position in the Mamluk military government, providing a clue as to who may have commissioned it. The design is known as a fleur-de-lis, a stylized silhouette of a lily.</p>