| Kubachi wares were discovered only during the second half of the last century in a small
village bearing this name. Kubachi is in Daghestan in the Caucasus and when, during the
second half of the the last century European travellers visited the place they found
beautifully decorated plates and dishes decorating the walls of peasent houses. Thus,
this pottery was called "Kubachi" ware. Kubachi, however, has never produced pottery.
The people of Kubachi were, and still are, excellent armourers and metalworkers. Thus,
it is explained, the people exchanged their swords, daggers and metalworks for these
pottery vessels. The actual place, where these Kubachi vessels were made is still not
known, but in must have been somewhere in the northwestern Iran or in Azerbayjan. There
are three types of these "Kubachi" wares known: a/ painted in black under a transparent
coloured glaze; b/ painted in indigo blue under aclear glaze; c/ painted in black and
blue under a clear glaze and d/ painted in polychrome. There are six dishes in the Tareq
Rajab Museum's collection, but one type, the third one is missing. Of the first type there
are two large dishes, one of them may be dated to the late 15th or early 16th century
(CER0626TSR), while the second one is perhaps late 16th (CER0627TSR). The second group,
which may be considered as a blue and white ware, except that the colour, being indigo blue,
is different from those of the other blue and whites. There is one large dish of this
type in the collection, showing a large rosette in the centre, surrounded by a floral scroll
(CER0628TSR). It may be dated to the early 16th century. Of the last group, the polychrome
painted type, there is only one example in the Museum, a small dish depicting blossoming
flowers (CER0629TSR). It was most likely made in the early 17th century.
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Kubachi wares