Silver and Niello in Islamic Iberia: A New Look at the Material Evidence

Abstract

In this short think piece, we highlight four objects that stand in for a larger group of medieval containers made of silver and niello. Decorations and Arabic inscriptions make it likely that these metalworks were made in al-Andalus between the mid-tenth and early twelfth centuries, yet all but one have come down to us through preservation in church treasuries. Here we lay out the issues at play in our ongoing study of the full group of silver containers.