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Islamic Art. L : Early Islamic Aubergine Glass Bottle
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Early Islamic Aubergine Glass Bottle - G.0336
Origin: Jericho, Palestine
Circa: 600
AD
to 900
AD
Dimensions:
3.1" (7.9cm) high
x 2.3" (5.8cm) wide
Catalogue: V1
Collection: Islamic
Style: Blown/Applied Decoration
Medium: Glass
£4,800.00
Location: Great Britain
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Description |
Early Islamic glass is often indistinguishable
from
late Classical/Byzantine and Sassanian
models.
The advent of Islam and the creation of a vast
political empire did not have an immediate
impact on the practices of glass-making
workshops that had existed for centuries,
especially in the Eastern Mediterranean
coastal
regions. By the seventh century most of the
techniques used to work glass by hand had
been
perfected. The major breakthrough occurred
in
the first century BC with the invention of
glass-
blowing. Rather than casting vessels in molds
which was an expensive and time-consuming
process, the blow-pipe increased the speed
and
efficiency of production. However, during the
early centuries of Islam, glass-makers used
this
ancient technology in new ways to produce
distinctively �Islamic� wares. They
excelled in
the
application of decoration to blown wares and
this
small globular bottle is a perfect example of
this
trend.
The decoration of this vessel was carried out
whilst the glass was still hot and thus in a
malleable state. Trails of molten glass were
delicately applied to the surface of the body
and
manipulated to form a band of six-pointer
�star�
motifs. A thick thread encircles the upper part
of
the body and has been shaped with a pointer
tool or pincer to create a rib-like effect. The
spherical body is slightly irregular in shape
and
terminates in a narrow, flaring neck. Other
bottles of this type have slightly wider necks.
It is
believed that the narrower ones were used as
perfume sprinklers or to hold other expensive
liquids that needed to be dispensed in small
amounts. The production of glass vessels
with
this style of applied decoration seems to have
been concentrated in the Syrian region. Over
the
centuries the surface has acquired an
opaque,
pearly-white patina but there are also areas in
which the deep aubergine hue of the glass is
clearly visible. (AM)
Small bottle, free-blown brownish glass with
trailed
decoration. The globular body has tall sloping
shoulder, short neck and terminates in a
bulge and
rests on an applied ring with deeply sunken
concave
base. The body is decorated with four
roughly H-
shaped trailed designs and a horizontal
ribbed band
around the base of the shoulder.
Syria or Palestine, 7th – 8th century.
Ht. 8cm; Top diam. 1.5cm; Base diam. 3.5cm.
Comparative material: Carboni, cat.no.5a,
inv.no.
LNS 39 KG, pp.26-27, cat.no.1.4b, inv.no.
LNS 63
KG, pp.38-39; Israeli, cat.nos.434-435,
p.335.
Prof. Geza Fehervari
Prof. Geoffrey King
- (G.0336)
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