High-Ranking

"From the second half of the 9th Century a period of decline began, and by the middle of the 10th Century, the Abbassid caliphs at Baghdad had no real political control over Iran. The governors whom the caliphs had appointed to administer the frontier provinces displayed a tendency to establish virtually independent local dynasties. Some of these included the Tahirids of Khurasan (820 - 873), the Samanids of Khurasan and Transoxiana (819 - 1005) and their offshoot, the Ghaznavids of Khurasan, Afghanistan and northern India (977 - 1186)."

"Of all the decorative arts, pottery made the most remarkable advances during the Abbassid period. In the 9th century new techniques were developed in which bold designs were painted with a strong cobalt blue pigment on a white background. Sometimes several tones of luster were combined on a white background, including red, green, gold or brown. Towards the end of the 9th century, animal and human silhouette designs became quite common, on a plain or densely covered background."