This pair of turquoise-glazed storage jars (also see M.2015.60.1) was likely manufactured in a Euphrates kiln, probably in the town of Raqqa, in northern Syria, which was an important center for ceramic production in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The ovoid shape of these vessels goes back to pre-Islamic times and continued into the medieval Islamic period. Such jars, made to be aesthetically pleasing despite their mundane utilitarian function, were used to store and transport a wide variety of substances both liquid and solid. These twin vessels are notable for their uncommonly large size.
