Bottle

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Bottle

Eastern Mediterranean, 9th-10th century
Glass
Glass, free-blown in two parts, impressed decoration
7 1/4 x 4 1/4 in. (8.4 x 10.8 cm)
Gift of Varya and Hans Cohn (M.88.129.184)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

In the decades of the transition from the Late Antique to the early Islamic era, glass production largely continued unabated using the same forms, styles, and techniques....
In the decades of the transition from the Late Antique to the early Islamic era, glass production largely continued unabated using the same forms, styles, and techniques. In time, however, craftsmen working under the new faith and leadership pioneered novel methods for decorating and manipulating the malleable and adaptable material. Such is the case with this partially reconstructed long-necked bottle, which required great technical skill because it was made in two parts, joined at the shoulder. The vivid contrast between the cobalt blue neck and colorless glass body is enhanced by pressed designs in the lower section that give texture to the otherwise smooth bottle. Although two glass vessels decorated in this technique carry inscriptions indicating that they were made in Cairo, there is as yet insufficient evidence to suggest that all such glasswares were produced in Egypt.
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Bibliography

  • Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.
  • Saldern, Axel von. Glass 500 B.C. to A.D. 1900: The Hans Cohn Collection. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1980.