The ‘Dame de Sabra’: New insights into the glaze technology of the Fatimids in Ifriqiya (10th century, Tunisia)

The analysis of Fatimid polychrome white-opaque glazed ware found at the archaeological sites of Bir Ftouha and Utica (Ifriqiya) revealed that, contrary prevailing belief, the glazes were successfully opacified with quartz rather than tin oxide (cassiterite) particles. This led us to hypothesise that the use of cassiterite to opacify the glazes in Ifriqiya did not commence until well after the Fatimids took control of Egypt in 972. However, the absence of analysed ceramics with the most characteristic Fatimid designs among them left some doubts about the validity of this hypothesis. To elucidate this matter, an analysis was conducted on a ceramic vessel bearing the characteristic Dame de Sabra Fatimid design. This analysis has confirmed that the glaze was opacified quartz and not tin oxide particles. To date, no documented examples of pottery opacified with cassiterite have been identified in Ifriqiya in either the Fatimid or Zirid periods (10th to mid-11th centuries).