Islamicate glass at Famen Temple
Date:
Before 874
Medium:
Glass
Description:
This pear-shaped glass vase or bottle represents early contact between China and the Islamic world along the Silk Routes. During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), a stupa (mound-like structure containing relics) and crypt were built at the Buddhist Famen Temple, in China's Shaanxi province. Excavations at the crypt uncovered inscribed items with references to events in the year 874, after which point the crypt was sealed. Among the treasures in the crypt were twenty glass objects, eighteen of them Islamicate. The majority bear a strong resemblance to vessels from Nishapur (Iran), which flourished as a center of glassmaking in the ninth through eleventh centuries.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
5
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
