Petrography of Islamic Pottery from Fustat

for production of a particular ceramic type is often simply its presence in abundant frequencies. The fundamental assumption underlying this attribution is entirely unsatisfactory. Indeed, if comparison is made with medieval pottery production in the Saintonge region of France, where luxury wares are known to be produced, but are rarely found,1 then the opposite conclusion could equally be obtained. Very rarely can one find in the literature hard evidence of the