Archaeology of craft and artisans in the Ottoman Empire: a case of ceramic production in Belgrade during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

This paper discusses an archaeology of ceramic craft and artisans in the sixteenth–seventeenth centuries Belgrade and problematises its relation to historical models of urban production in the Ottoman Empire. The study focuses on five common wares, representative of the Middle Danube region, found i...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Živković, Jelena, Bikić, Vesna, Georgakopoulou, Myrto, Carvajal López, José C.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/349475
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/349475
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85102700921
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Slip
Ceramic production
Craft organisation
Guilds
High-lead glaze
Ottoman archaeology
Descripción
Sumario:This paper discusses an archaeology of ceramic craft and artisans in the sixteenth–seventeenth centuries Belgrade and problematises its relation to historical models of urban production in the Ottoman Empire. The study focuses on five common wares, representative of the Middle Danube region, found in well-defined consumption contexts of Belgrade’s intra and extra muros settlements. The production technology of these wares, including ceramic bodies, slips, and glazes, was studied with ceramic petrography and chemical analysis, and the results were interpreted using the chaîne opératoire conceptual framework. The petrographic study was also used for a preliminary provenance determination of raw materials. It is proposed that Monochrome Glazed Ware, Slip-Painted Ware, and Domestic Unglazed Ware were locally made in Belgrade following the Ottoman conquest in 1521. The emergence of this production coincides with the abrupt cultural change in the Middle Danube region marked by migrations and new socio-economic conditions initiated by the Ottomans. Traits of the local production are compared to the existing corpus of knowledge on the urban craftsmanship and guilds formulated in Ottoman historiography for the purpose of developing a cross-disciplinary approach to crafts and artisans in the Ottoman Empire.