Eleventh-century visual and textual sources characterize the Pisans as traders and crusaders simultaneously, and this paper argues that the seemingly contradictory qualities of holy warrior and merchant were not only complementary but essential for the definition of a Pisan civic identity. The hundreds of bowls that still exist all came from the Islamic world and were imported at a time when Pisa was undertaking military campaigns against and conducting trade with Muslim territories throughout the Mediterranean. Pisan churches of the eleventh century feature the use of bacini, or ceramic bowls, as decoration on an unprecedented scale. In all cases, however, Andalusi objects had overwhelmingly positive associations for medieval Pisans, as they alluded to the source of the city’s wealth and fame – extensive and profitable commercial exchange with Muslim territories in the Western Mediterranean. On other religious buildings, imports from Muslim Spain had greater resonance as fruits of lucrative trade, luxury commodities that manifested the cultural sophistication of Pisa’s citizens. On important civic structures, reused Andalusi artworks were understood as plunder of war, associated with epic battles through literary texts and monumental inscriptions. This article will explore the nature of the Andalusi objects imported into Pisa and the varied understandings of these objects based on the quality and type of object as well as their secondary context in the city. Interaction between the medieval republic of Pisa and the territories of Sharq al-Andalus began early in the eleventh century and was characterized by fierce military confrontations, peaceful trade, and the importation of numerous Andalusi commodities into the Tuscan city.
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