ABSTRACT
Lustre pottery is a renowned ceramic decoration obtained by a complex technical process. It was first produced in the 9th century c.e. in the Middle East. The manufacture of lustre was seldom described in detail before the late 19th century; recipes were kept zealously secret by the guilds. A few documents, such as letters or travel books, collected by curious nonspecialists surprised by the appearance of lustre pottery, are the only historical sources relating to their manufacturing techniques. This chapter outlines the technical sequence of production of lustre ceramics as identified through scientific analyses of archaeological remains. A specific 16th-century recipe recorded in Muel is then presented and compared to archaeological finds from the same area. The analytical approach helps to interpret the vague directions given in the description, and it reveals that, most likely, the informant was deliberately hiding a crucial part of his recipe in order to hinder competition.
