Pot

Raqqa wares like this one-handled pot only began to appear on the art market at the turn of the last century, following the excavation of ancient and medieval pottery in northern Mesopotamia, near modern-day Mosul, and in the south, near Baghdad and along the Gulf. Freer was an early enthusiast: he purchased this piece in 1902 and eventually amassed a substantial collection of Near Eastern ceramics. In Detroit, they were prominently featured throughout the Peacock Room, most notably massed around La Princesse du pays de la porcelaine and in the eye-level shelves along the west wall.