Vessel Fragment with Fleur-de-lis Emblems

This ceramic fragment was decorated using sgraffito, a technique in which an artist applied a colored slip or glaze to pottery, then incised it to reveal the contrasting color of the clay underneath. This fragment once formed part of a dish made in Fustat (now Cairo), Egypt, the capital of the Mamluk dynasty (1250–1517), whose rule extended beyond the modern borders of Egypt into the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. The repeated emblem on the edge of this bowl likely represents a position in the Mamluk military government, providing a clue as to who may have commissioned it. The design is known as a fleur-de-lis, a stylized silhouette of a lily.