Dish

This Andalusian lustreware dish is decorated in blue and faded lustre, with a stylised cruciform tree-of-life and bands of mock-Arabic script. The designs on Spanish lustrewares had been influenced by Moorish and Arabic tradition, but by the early 1500s the motifs were adapted to new markets, and the Islamic symbols replaced by motifs and images appropriate to a Christian culture. Pottery from Andalusia and Catalonia arrived in London via the Netherlands or as gifts or souvenirs brought by travellers. Political links with the Spanish kingdom of Aragon in the early 1500s helped to stimulate trade with Spain and interest in exotically decorated ceramics for the table.