Enameled glass bottle
Type:
Bottles
Date:
Late thirteenth century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Egypt
Medium:
Glass
Dimensions:
43.5 × 27.9 cm
Description:
This Mamluk enameled glass bottle stands out for its remarkable size and the complexity of its decoration. The technique was difficult: after the undecorated bottle was blown, the colored glass for the enamel had to be applied and then fired to fuse the colors to the vessel. To keep the object from melting, glassblowers rotated it constantly at the mouth of the furnace. Despite these technical challenges, a large number of enameled glass objects were produced in Mamluk Egypt and Syria in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
The neck of the bottle shows a phoenix, derived from Ilkhanid art. On the body, below three large floral medallions, fourteen armed horsemen seem to have been copied from Seljuq or Ilkhanid manuscripts or mina'i ware. Despite the fact that most are dressed as Ilkhanid warriors, they may be participants in a Mamluk horsemanship tournament in which some contestants wore Mongol dress to evoke real battles between the two empires. In the late thirteenth century, when the bottle was made, the Mamluks were often at war with the Ilkhanids and their allies in the eastern Mediterranean region, but that did not keep them from emulating Mongol art.
The neck of the bottle shows a phoenix, derived from Ilkhanid art. On the body, below three large floral medallions, fourteen armed horsemen seem to have been copied from Seljuq or Ilkhanid manuscripts or mina'i ware. Despite the fact that most are dressed as Ilkhanid warriors, they may be participants in a Mamluk horsemanship tournament in which some contestants wore Mongol dress to evoke real battles between the two empires. In the late thirteenth century, when the bottle was made, the Mamluks were often at war with the Ilkhanids and their allies in the eastern Mediterranean region, but that did not keep them from emulating Mongol art.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
9
Repository and Online Resources:
• Read more about the bottle on the website of the Metropolitan Museum.
