Oliver Watson
Research interests:
Islamic art, particularly the art of the object.
History of ceramics, particularly the early development of glazed ware, mediaeval ceramics of Syria and Iran.
History of collecting, and of fakes and forgeries
Museology and the presentation of Islamic Art
Recent publications:
2014 “Revisiting Samarra: the Rise of Islamic Glazed Pottery, Beiträge Zur Islamischen Kunst Und Archäologie, 4, p. 123–142.
2015 Tite, M., Watson, O. et al., “Revisiting the beginnings of tin-opacified Islamic glazes”, Journal of Archaeological Science, 57(C), p. 80–91.
2015 'Pottery and Light', God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth: Light in Islamic Art and Culture (The Biennial Hamad Bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art), Yale University Press, , 2015, p. 156-175.
2017 'Ceramics and Circulation 800–1250', In Flood, B. and Necipoglu, G. (eds) A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture, v. 1, Wiley Blackwell, p. 478-500.
2020 Ceramics of Iran, Islamic Pottery from the Sarikhani Collection, Yale University Press, 528 pp.
PUBLICATIONS ON ISLAMIC TOPICS
Books
1985 Persian Lustre Ware, Faber Monograph on Ceramics, London, 209 pp.
2004 Ceramics from Islamic Lands: a Catalogue of the al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, Thames and Hudson, London, 512 pp.
2008 Museum of Islamic Art – Guide, Prestel, Munich, 144 pp.
2020 Ceramics of Iran, Islamic Pottery from the Sarikhani Collection, Yale University Press, 528 pp.
Contributions to Books
1976 Entries for the ceramics in: The Arts of Islam, exhibition catalogue, Arts Council of Great Britain, Hayward Gallery, London, nos. 248-428
1985 "Ceramics", in Treasures of Islam, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva , pp. 206-247
1987 "Ceramics", introductory essay and catalogue entries in "Art from the World of Islam, 8th - 18th century", Louisiana Revy, 27/3, March 1987, catalogue of exhibition held in the Louisiana Museum, Denmark, pp. 43-49
1987 "'Tell Minis' Wares", with Venetia Porter, Syria and Iran, Three Studies in Medieval Ceramics, Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, IV, pp. 175-248
1988 "Ceramics", in Islamic Art in the Keir Collection, Faber and Faber, London, pp. 137-286
1997 “Islamic Glass”, chapter in Glass (ed. R. Liefkes) V&A, 160 pp.
2003 "Ceramics in the Islamic World", in The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture v. 5: Culture and Learning In Islam, UNESCO Publishing, Paris, p. 751-66.
2006 'Lustre Wasters: Attribution, Provenance and Art-historical Politics', in Baker, P. and Brend, B. (eds) Sifting Sands, Reading Signs; Studies in honour of Professor Géza Fehérvári, London, p. 231-249.
2006 'Pottery Under the Mongols', Beyond the Legacy of Genghis Khan, ed. Linda Komaroff, Brill, Leiden, Boston, p. 325-345.
2006 'Almost Hilariously Bad: Iranian Pottery in the Nineteenth Century', in Islamic Art in the 19th Century: Tradition, Innovation and Eclecticism, eds Behrens-Abouseif, D., and Vernoit, V., Brill: Leiden, Boston, p. 333-362.
2007 'Another Gilt Glass Bottle', in Hagedorn, A. and A. Shalem (eds), Facts and Artefacts - Art in the Islamic World; Festschrift for Jens Kröger on his 65th Birthday , Brill, Leiden, Boston, p. 105-120.
2007 'Rayy - from Wallis to Watson', in Treptow, Tanya, Daily Life Ornamented: The Medieval Persian City of Rayy, Oriental Institute of Chicago, p.
2011 “A Silver Vase”, Reflections on Islamic Art, Ed. Ahdaf Soueif, Bloomsbury Qatar, p. 58-63
2012 'Glaze-decorated Unglazed Wares', Porter, V. and Rosser-Owen, M. (eds) Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World: Art, Craft and Text, Essays Presented to James W. Allan, I. B. Tauris, London and New York, p. 337-347.
2012 'The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha', in Junod, B., Khalil, G., Weber, S. and Wolf, G. (eds), Islamic Art and the Museum: Approaches to Art and Archaeology of the Muslim World in the Twenty-first Century, Saqi Books, London, , 2012, p. 264-269.
2015 'Pottery and Light', God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth: Light in Islamic Art and Culture (The Biennial Hamad Bin Khalifa Symposium on Islamic Art), Yale University Press, , 2015, p. 156-175.
2017 'Ceramics and Circulation 800–1250', In Flood, B. and Necipoglu, G. (eds) A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture, v. 1, Wiley Blackwell, p. 478-500.
Articles
1975 "The Masjid-i Ali, Quhrud: an architectural and epigraphic survey", Iran, XIII, pp. 59-74
1975 "Persian Lustre Ware, from the 14th to the 19th Centuries", Le Monde Iranien et l'Islam, III, pp. 63-80
1976 "Persian Lustre-Painted Pottery: The Rayy and Kashan Styles", Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, 1973-5, vol. 40, pp. 1-19
1979 "Persian Wares, the Clement Ades Gift to the Victoria and Albert Museum", Connoisseur, January, pp. 13-19
1979 "Persian Silhouette Ware and the Development of Underglaze Painting", Decorative Techniques and Styles in Asian Ceramics, ed. M. Medley, Percival David Foundation Colloquy, No. 8, University of London, pp. 86-103
1981 "A Syrian Bull: a Rare Islamic Figurine", Apollo, January, pp. 10-13
1981 "Iznik from Isfahan", Apollo, September, pp. 176-179
1982 "An Islamic Lacquered Dish", Lacquerwork in Asia and Beyond, ed. W. Watson, Percival David Foundation Colloquy, No. 11, University of London, pp. 232-246
1983 "Acquisitions in the Department of Ceramics, 1981-2: Islamic and Studio Pottery", Burlington Magazine, May
1983 "Ottoman Ceramics", in Die Turken vor Wien, exhibition catalogue, Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, pp. 341-350
1983 "Two Persian Tiles", Arts of Asia, November -December, (number devoted to the Museum of Oriental Art, Durham), pp. 90-92
1985 "The Artistry of the Islamic Tile", Orientations, January, 15-31
1985 "Fakes and Forgeries of Islamic Pottery", Album of the Victoria and Albert Museum, IV, 38-46
1986 "Islamic Art and Computers", Arts and the Islamic World, Winter 1985 - Spring 1986, pp. 27-28
1987 "Pottery and Metal Shapes in Persia in the 12th and 13th Centuries", Pots and Pans, ed. Michael Vickers, Oxford Studies in Islamic Art III, pp. 205-212
1987 "Islamic Pots in Chinese Style", Burlington Magazine, CXXIX, May, 1987, pp. 304-306
1990 "A World View of Artistic Excellence", in interview with Sajid Rizvi, Eastern Art Report, July, pp. 16-20
1990 Review article: "Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, by Raby and Atasoy", Orientations, Sept., pp. 85-87
1990 "Ceramics - the Mutual Influence of China and Iran", Encyclopedia Iranica, V/5, 1991, pp. 455-457
1991 "The Islamic Collections", The Victoria and Albert Museum, Scala Books, London, pp. 151-159
1994 "Documentary Mina'i and Abu Zaid's Bowls", The Art of the Saljuqs in Iran and Anatolia, Proceedings of a symposium held in Edinburgh in 1982, (ed. R. Hillenbrand) IAA 4, Mazda Publishers, California, pp. 170-181
1995 "The Search For Pattern: Carving in Mediaeval Iranian Ceramics”, in Arlene Fullerton and Geza Fehervari (eds), Kuwait Arts and Architecture: A Collection of Essays, Kuwait, pp. 44-9
1996 "Blue and White: Islam, China, Europe." Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah Newsletter 5: 8-13.
1997 “Glass from the Islamic World” in Liefkes, R., (ed.), Glass, Victoria and Albert Museum, pp 26-35
1999 "VIII. Report on the Glazed Ceramics", in Miglus, Peter A., Raqqa I: Die Frühislamische Keramik von Tall Aswad, Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, Mainz, p. 81-7, taf. 94-9.
1999 "Museums, Collecting, Art-History, Archaeology", Damaszener Mitteilungen 11, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, 1999, p. 421-32, taf. 54-6.
1999 "Fritware: Fatimid Egypt or Saljuq Iran?", in Barrucand, M. (ed.), L'Egypte Fatimide; son art et son histoire, Université de Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, 1999, p. 299-310.
2004 'Fakes and Forgeries in Islamic Pottery, 2. Bamberger Symposium der Islamishcher Kunst, Juli 1996', Oriente Moderno, v. 2, p. 517-539.
2005 'The Doha Box', Journal of the David Collection, v. 2,1, p. 165-175.
2010 'The Case of the Ottoman Table', David Collection Journal, v. 3, 2010, p. 22-53.
2013 “Notes from the Field:”, The Art Bulletin, xcv, March, p. 32–34.
2014 “Revisiting Samarra: the Rise of Islamic Glazed Pottery, Beiträge Zur Islamischen Kunst Und Archäologie, 4, p. 123–142.
2015 Tite, M., Watson, O. et al., “Revisiting the beginnings of tin-opacified Islamic glazes”, Journal of Archaeological Science, 57(C), p. 80–91.
In Preparation or Press
“New wares from Raqqa”, DAI Damaszener Mitteilungen, Berlin
PUBLICATIONS ON STUDIO POTTERY
Books
1986 American Potters Today, exhibition catalogue, Victoria and Albert Museum
1990 British Studio Ceramics; a catalogue of the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Phaidon Christie's Ltd, Oxford, 299 pp., 743 pls.
1993 Studio Pottery; 20th Century British Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum Collection, (paperback reprint of British Studio Pottery), 1990, Phaidon
1997 Bernard Leach - Potter and Artist, exhibition catalogue, two editions, Japanese and English, pp. 171 + 177 col. illus.
Articles
1981 "The Development of Studio Pottery in Britain", in Britse Keramiek 81, exhibition catalogue, Scharpoord, Knokke-Heist, Belgium (in Flemish)
1983 "Acquisitions in the Department of Ceramics, 1981-2: Islamic and Studio Pottery", Burlington Magazine, May
1983 "The Victoria and Albert Museum and Studio Ceramics", Studio Ceramics Today, Craftsmen Potters Association, exhibition catalogue and 6th edition of Potters,
1985 "The St Ives Pottery", in St Ives 1939-1964, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London
1985 "Studio Pottery: New and Traditional", in Carol McNicoll, Ceramics, exhibition catalogue, Crafts Council, London
1986 "American Potters Today; a personal view", Ceramic Review, 99, May-June
1987 "British Studio Pottery and Japan", Takeshi Yasuda, Ceramics, Exhibition Catalogue, Cleveland Crafts Centre
1987 Alison Britton, text for pamphlet accompanying Alison Britton's solo exhibition at Contemporary Applied Arts, London, Sept - Oct.
1987 "Pottery; Form and Status", discussion paper presented to the Gulbenkian Foundation's Initiative on the Crafts Conference, September
1987 "Bernard Leach - Potter and Pioneer", Ceramic Review, Nov - Dec, 108
1987 "Sam Haile as Potter", Sam Haile, catalogue of exhibition held at Birch and Conran, London, Oct -Nov.
1988 "American Potters Today", V&A Album, Summer
1988 “Liberation of the Jug” Craft Arts, 12, pp. 51-3
1988 Hans Coper, foreword in an exhibition catalogue, Gallerie Besson, London
1989 "Ceramics", in St Ives, exhibition catalogue, Hyogo, Kamakura and Setagaya Museums, Japan
1989 "Critics Eye - Pot by Bruce McLean", Crafts, September/October
1989 "Studio Pottery in the UK", in Actualité de la Céramique Européene, exhibition catalogue, Paris
1990 "Justification and Means: the early acquisition of Studio Pottery in the Victoria and Albert Museum", Burlington Magazine, 1046, CXXXII, May, pp, 358-360
1990 "Well Kept", an interview with Emannuel Cooper, Crafts, 104, May-June, pp. 16-19
1990 "Acquiring Taste", an extract from British Studio Ceramics, Crafts, 106, Sept-Oct 1990, pp. 38-39
1991 "Ethics and Expression", in Colours of the Earth, British Council Exhibition Catalogue for tour in India, p. 6-7
1992 "Issues in the Studio Pottery Movement", in Janice Tchalenko, catalogue of the retrospective exhibition, Ruskin Gallery, Sheffield
1993 "Pots: Eating and Meaning", in High Table; British Studio Ceramics of the 1990s , catalogue of a touring exhibition. Craftspace Touring, Birmingham.
1995 "Gedanken, Worte, Werke uber das Oeuvre von Alison Britton", Keramik Magazin, 2/1995, pp. 15-17
1995 "Alison Britton, Artiste et Potière”, la revue de la Ceramique et du Verre, 82, May/June, 25-7
1995 “Review: Byzantine Ceramics”, Ceramic Review, 154, July/August, p. 22-23
1995 “Lucie Rie - Metropolitan Potter”, Ceramic Review, 154, July/August
1997 "British Studio Pottery and Japan", in The Cream of Takeshi Yasuda in Derbyshire, 1977, Derek Topp Gallery, Rowseley, Derbyshire, 1977, p. 5-11.
1997 "Bernard Leach - Rewriting a Life”, Pioneers of Craft, Crafts Council, London, pp. 22-36
1997 “The Leach School in the Modern World”, Jim Malone, Artist Potter, Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, pp. 8-12
1997 “Ceramic Traditions”, Philip Eglin, the Scottish Gallery, Edinburg
1998 Richard Slee, Grand Wizard of Studio Ceramics, Barrett Marsden Gallery, London, exhibition pamphlet
1998 “Richard Slee: Grand Wizard of Studio Ceramics”, in Richard Slee: Grand Wizard, Tate St Ives, pp. 8-19
2000 “Curator’s Choice: Alison Britton”, American Ceramics, Spring, pp. 44-5
2003 “Foreword”, in Emmanuel Cooper, David Leach: A Biography Richard Dennis, p. 8
2013 “Wally Keeler”, introduction for exhibition at Oxford Ceramics, 2013
2017 Martin Smith, for Marsden Woo Gallery Exhibition, London, Nov.
PUBLICATIONS ON GENERAL TOPICS
1994 "Recent Acquisitions of Glass and the New Glass Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum", Burlington Magazine, May, p. 339
1994 "Collections: The V&A Glass Gallery: Making a Case for Glass", Design Review, 12/3, pp. 8-9
1994 "Glass Gallery: Windows on Glass", Museums Journal, November 1994, pp. 28-30
1994 "New Technology and the New Glass Gallery", Museum Development, Autumn
1995 The Story of Glass, (Chief editor and author), CD-ROM, Reed Interactive, Oxford
1995 “The Story of Glass”, EVA Conference Proceedings, Wednesday 26th July, 1995, pp. 7-14
1997 “The Story of Glass”, Computers and the History of Art, 7/1, 1997, pp. 49-58
1997 Entries 99-101, 176, 185, 198, in A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum, exhibition catalogue for the Baltimore Museum of Art, ed. M. Baker and B. Richardson, New York.
