Container in the form of an Animal10th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Small translucent glass vessel shaped like a crouching animal, with an arching neck-spout and navy blue handle, feet, and decorative accents

Ancient glass vessel in the form of a duck or bird, translucent pale cream with dark blue applied glass details at the handle, collar, eyes, and small feet; visible repair lines across the rounded body.

Glass vessel in the form of a camel, with a rounded pale cream body, elongated neck curving upward to a spout, dark blue handle arching over the back, and small blue accents at the ears, collar, and feet; visible crack repairs across the body.

Title: Container in the form of an Animal
Place Made: Probably Iran
Date Made: 10th century
Medium: Glass, free-blown, with applied decoration
Dimensions: 3 3/16 x 2 3/16 x 4 3/8 in. (8.10 x 5.56 x 11.11 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Varya and Hans Cohn
Accession Number: M.88.129.187
Classification: Glass
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: In early Islamic art, as in the Late Antique era, animal forms were frequently employed in the design of utilitarian objects, such as this charming glass container for perfume or scented oil in the shape of a kneeling quadruped, probably a camel. Here, in order to transform the animal into a functional vessel, it has been reduced to its most basic yet recognizable forms. The elegant, curved neck of the camel has been further elongated to serve as the vessel’s spout, the hump is reconfigured as the handle, and the tiny, almost vestigial feet represent the legs folded beneath the beast. It once would have had a stopper made of a more ephemeral material to prevent evaporation.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Saldern, Axel von. Glass 500 B.C. to A.D. 1900: The Hans Cohn Collection. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1980.
Komaroff, Linda. Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2005.
Hess, Catherine. The Arts of Fire: Islamic Influences on Glass and Ceramics of the Italian Renaissance. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust, 2004.
Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.

Container in the form of an Animal10th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Title: Container in the form of an Animal
Place Made: Probably Iran
Date Made: 10th century
Medium: Glass, free-blown, with applied decoration
Dimensions: 3 3/16 x 2 3/16 x 4 3/8 in. (8.10 x 5.56 x 11.11 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Varya and Hans Cohn
Accession Number: M.88.129.187
Classification: Glass
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes: In early Islamic art, as in the Late Antique era, animal forms were frequently employed in the design of utilitarian objects, such as this charming glass container for perfume or scented oil in the shape of a kneeling quadruped, probably a camel. Here, in order to transform the animal into a functional vessel, it has been reduced to its most basic yet recognizable forms. The elegant, curved neck of the camel has been further elongated to serve as the vessel’s spout, the hump is reconfigured as the handle, and the tiny, almost vestigial feet represent the legs folded beneath the beast. It once would have had a stopper made of a more ephemeral material to prevent evaporation.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Saldern, Axel von. Glass 500 B.C. to A.D. 1900: The Hans Cohn Collection. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1980.
Komaroff, Linda. Islamic Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2005.
Hess, Catherine. The Arts of Fire: Islamic Influences on Glass and Ceramics of the Italian Renaissance. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Trust, 2004.
Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.