Masters, who began to avoid old styles became really free in the 6th century. Changing in the shape of vessels influenced traditions in the craft. We can see this in the altered forms of vessels under the influence of customs and foreign traditions.
Most of the extant famous Sogdian monuments in our country are dated to the 7th and 8th centuries. In the 5th-7th centuries, the domestic craft of Sogda became more closely connected with the market in those areas where it was preserved. Elements of handmade ceramics were increasingly more affected by changes in fashion. In either household utensils or tableware, forms could differ greatly even in settlements located just several dozen kilometers apart. Each master was quite free to change the shapes of bowls and jugs.
The most decorative vessels ceased to be considered to be signs of rich life. In the 7th century, to please a consumer a clay vessel had to resemble a metal one. Red slip became particularly old-fashioned and unpopular. In ceramics, bowls are replaced by mugs apparently faster than in metal. As we can see in the photos below, the tableware is not luxurious, but on the contrary, features a simple European design.
In Maimurg in the second half of the 7th century, and by the early 8th century throughout, we can already see a new style of ceramics striking with its novelty. There were even handmade mugs with a festooned edge.
In the 5th-7th centuries, the Sogdian applied art generally shows how the horizons of Sogdians had broadened, and how the people had rejected the narrow traditions of little-connected towns and villages.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album Sogdiana as the Heart of the Silk Road (volume XXXV, pp. 68-69) from the Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections series.
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