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| 1. | Blackburn, M.A.S., & Metcalf, D.M. eds. | |
| Viking-Age Coinage in the Northern Lands. The Sixth Oxford Symposium on Coinage and Monetary History, Part 1. BAR International Series 122 (i), Oxford 1981 | ||
| Shelfmark: Ash Coin Room 684.87 Vik (vols 1&2) | ||
| Comments: This contains some very interesting articles on the outlfow of coins from the eastern Islamic lands to Southern Russia and thus to Viking Scandinavia. The articles below give some incredible statistics on the numbers of hoards and the numbers of Islamic, especially Samanid, coins found in them. Lieber argues against an Islamic silver shortage by suggesting that gold was the most precious means for exchange, and that silver naturally flows to where it is most highly valued. | ||
| Includes: | ||
| Leiber, A.E. "International Trade and Coinage in the Northernlands during the Early Middle Ages: an Introduction", pp1-34 | ||
| Noonan, T. "Ninth-Century Dirham hoards from European Russia: a Preliminary Analysis", pp47-118 | ||
| Hovén, B.E. "On Oriental Coins in Scandinavia", pp119-128 | ||
| 2. | Dunlop, D.M. | |
| "Sources of Gold and Silver in Islam according to al-Hamdani (C10th)", Studia Islamica 8 (1957) pp28-49 | ||
| Shelfmark: OIL P.790 Stu | ||
| Comments: This article deals with the literary evidence for sources of gold and silver available in the Islamic world in this period, in order to counter the view that there was a shortage of silver (first put forward by Blake). | ||
| 3. | Lane, Arthur | |
| Early Islamic Pottery. London, 1947. | ||
| Shelfmark: OIL N6260 Lan | ||
| Comments: Lane deals very briefly with these wares in his chapter on the "Ceramic Underworld" and perhaps gives the wrong impression of the Nishapur and Samanid wares by this title. It is a basic and now out-dated introduction to the topic. | ||
| 4. | Linder Welin, U.S. | |
| "Coins from Khwarazm and the Swedish Viking Hoards", Meddelanden fran Lunds Universitets Historiska Museum, 1961, pp155-79 | ||
| Shelfmark: Bodstack Per.17583 d.177 | ||
| Comments: This article is not directly relevant to Samanid coins but gives a good impression of what is going on in the area and why Samanid coins are so sought after by the Vikings. | ||
| 5. | Raby, Julian | |
| "Looking for Silver in Clay: A New Perspective on Samanid Ceramics", Oxford Studies in Islamic Art III: Pots and Pans (1985) pp 179-203 | ||
| Shelfmark: EAL Y.140 | ||
| Comments: This comprehensive article is really the only one to touch on the subject of imitation of metalwork in Islamic pottery, in specific relation to the Samanid wares. It contrasts 'Abbasid pottery with Samanid, and looks for reasons why the Samanid wares are so different, finding the suggested reason in imitation of silver vessels in a time of possible silver shortage. | ||
| 6. | Volov, Lisa | |
| "Plaited Kufic on Samanid Epigraphic pottery", Ars Orientalis 6 (1966) 107-34 | ||
| Shelfmark: EAL Y.3 | ||
| Comments: This article should really be your starting point as it contains a very useful discussion of the historical and ceramic background to wares decorated epigraphically. This book is the main study of the development of the script on these wares and uses comparisons with numismatic and monumental epigraphy to postulate a chronology for the pottery. | ||
| 7. | Wilkinson, C.K. | |
| Nishapur: The Pottery of the Early Islamic Period. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1973) | ||
| Shelfmark: EAL: Bwn. Wil | ||
| Comments: Contains a useful overview of the main types and decorative features of Samanid epigraphic ware, though the pieces used to illustrate should not necessarily be taken as typical of the group, as Wilkinson only discusses the pieces that came to light during the Metropolitan's investigations. | ||
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