Abū Zayd ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Zayd

Luster mihrab from the tomb of Imam Reza (see Imam Reza shrine), dated 612 AH (1215-1216 CE). Astan Quds Razavi Museum. Abū Zayd ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Zayd (Persian: سید شمس‌الدین بن محمد بن أبی زید حسنی کاشانی; in Kashan), commonly referred to as Abu Zayd or Abu Zayd Kashani (ابو زید کاشانی), is the most famous potter of medieval Iran, who worked in the two most expensive overglaze techniques, enamel (mina'i) and luster, and left behind the greatest number of signed works.

At least 15 tiles and vessels signed by Abu Zayd are known, dated from 26 March 1186 to 1219. The earliest known work by Abu Zayd is an enameled bowl in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (see illustration), one of the first examples of mina'i ware, so the group has been assigned to him. Despite this fact Abu Zayd is best known for his lustrewares.

Abu Zayd's signatures tell us that he came from an important family of Hasani sayyids in Kashan. He was careful to specify that he both made (ʻamila) and decorated (șanaʻa) the work, "thus distinguishing potting from painting and telling us that he did both". He was not only a potter and painter but also a poet and scribe, because sometimes he inscribed on vessels his own verses. In most cases, however, Abu Zayd, like other potters working in Kashan, transcribed verses by other poets. Abu Zayd's signature on pieces in the two most important techniques of overglaze luxury ceramics "is one of the main reasons that enamelled ware, like lustreware, can be attributed to Kashan". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Islamic Gallery, British Museum 185.JPG|Mina'i bowl dated Muharram 583 (March-April 1187). British Museum. Iran, kashan, grande bacile lustrato, 1191.jpg|Large luster bowl dated Safar 587 (February-March 1191). Art Institute of Chicago. Plate by Shamsuddin al-Hasani Abu Zayd, Iran, December 1210 AD (dated AH Jumada II 607), composite body painted over glaze with luster - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC04647.jpg|Luster scalloped plate dated Jumada II 607 (December 1210). Freer Gallery of Art.