DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36284#0046
38
It has already been said above, that amongst all the
dateable mosque-lamps adorned with gold and enamel,—
and glass-work in general,—with which we are acquainted,
hardly half a dozen can be found, assignable to the period
following 1402. And, as upon all these, the inscriptions are
similar to those on their elder sisters, they must be assumed
to be Syr'an, not examples of ' Iraki glass. Mr. Nesbitt,
in his Handbook " Glass ", pp. 59-60, speaks of two vessels,
not otherwise known to us,* one of which he considered
to be Persian, and distinctly later than the fourteenth
century. It might therefore be held to have originated
in Persian 'Irak; and its date may unquestionably be
regarded as more recent than 1402.
Now it is stated by Chardin,! (who, according to
Nesbitt, p. 61, was in Persia in 1664-1667,) among other
observations on the art of Glassmaking in Persia, that—
" Moreover, the art of glassmaking was first introduced
into Persia some eighty years ago. A needy and greedy
Italian taught the practice in Shiraz for 50 dollars. But
if I had not been well informed on the point, I should have
supposed that the Persians were indebted to the Portuguese
tor their knowledge of this noble and useful art."
Why to the Portuguese ? Because at that time, the
noble and useful art of glass-making had manifestly long
been extinct in the neighbouring land of Mesopotamia.
The turbulent Portuguese seamen had, after the circum-
navigation of Africa, made their way to the Persian Gulf^
but Chardin should never have taken them to be the
teachers of the Persians.
As a matter of Get, we obtain from the travellers of the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, only some scanty notices
of Oriental glass, and these refer exclusively to Syria.
There, it would seem, the fabrication of glass had never
wholly ceased, although the art of executing gilt and
enamelled work was dead ; and the principal articles of
production were the rings and bracelets made of coloured
glass, so dear to Eastern women, especially those of Syria;
and also glasses for domestic purposes, which are described
by Gumpenberg as " pretty ", but are otherwise unknown
to us. Dawson Borer, in the description of his Journey
from Naples to Jerusalem in 18451 speaks also of lamps
* A long-necked bottle, adorned with inscriptions in gold on a blue
ground, and figures of dancing-girls enamelled in various colours (recently in
the possession of the Princess Eleonora Corsini); and an elegant vase, about
a foot in height, made of blue glass, enamelled with inscriptions, birds,
and other ornaments. The latter has a beautiful silver mounting of the
fifteenth century, with German inscriptions, and seems to the author not
much earlier in date than the mounting. Hence he considered the bottle to
be decidedly more recent than the fourteenth century, and probably Persian.
t Voyages de M. le Chevalier Chardin en Perse et autres lieux,
tom. IV, p. 257.
s Dawson Borer: Journey from Naples to Jerusalem 1845, p. 454,
cited by Nesbitt in bis catalogue of the Slade collection.
made there, which were imported into Egypt and other
regions, for the decoration of mosques and houses. But
as to this matter we are quite ignorant, and know neither
how the lamps were made, nor whether they had any
artistic value.
In fig. 37 we reproduce a vessel, made of very thick
glass, greenish in tint, with a sort of cloudy milkiness, and
badly clarified, which is of relatively modern origin. It
comes apparently from Nabi Yahya near Damascus, and has
considerable artistic value.
It was acquired in 1895 by the " Ferdinandeum"
Landes-Museum in Innsbruck, and is a vase 252 mm. in
height; round and full-bellied, with a strong welded ring-
FiQ. 37. 4 Pbae, w Tsroler La.TKseawMeM'M, FerJswaMJeMm., us
T?ms&rMc&. (A&oMs s/iree-yl/Ma sAe stze o/sAe o?*spwu%.)
foot. The neck is short, thick, and nearly cylindrical,
slightly in-bowed, and springs, without a break in the
outline, in a graceful concave sweep from the shoulder of
the vessel. The profile of the vase is elegant in its upper
proportions, but somewhat crushed in the lower part, in
which it has been a little deformed by the fire.
This vase was bought for about 25 florins (out of the
fund left by Johann von Wieser, Statthaltereirath) from
a Tyrolese stone-mason who had been in Syria, and had
obtained it in the place near Damascus mentioned above.
The decoration of the vessel is remarkable.
It has already been said above, that amongst all the
dateable mosque-lamps adorned with gold and enamel,—
and glass-work in general,—with which we are acquainted,
hardly half a dozen can be found, assignable to the period
following 1402. And, as upon all these, the inscriptions are
similar to those on their elder sisters, they must be assumed
to be Syr'an, not examples of ' Iraki glass. Mr. Nesbitt,
in his Handbook " Glass ", pp. 59-60, speaks of two vessels,
not otherwise known to us,* one of which he considered
to be Persian, and distinctly later than the fourteenth
century. It might therefore be held to have originated
in Persian 'Irak; and its date may unquestionably be
regarded as more recent than 1402.
Now it is stated by Chardin,! (who, according to
Nesbitt, p. 61, was in Persia in 1664-1667,) among other
observations on the art of Glassmaking in Persia, that—
" Moreover, the art of glassmaking was first introduced
into Persia some eighty years ago. A needy and greedy
Italian taught the practice in Shiraz for 50 dollars. But
if I had not been well informed on the point, I should have
supposed that the Persians were indebted to the Portuguese
tor their knowledge of this noble and useful art."
Why to the Portuguese ? Because at that time, the
noble and useful art of glass-making had manifestly long
been extinct in the neighbouring land of Mesopotamia.
The turbulent Portuguese seamen had, after the circum-
navigation of Africa, made their way to the Persian Gulf^
but Chardin should never have taken them to be the
teachers of the Persians.
As a matter of Get, we obtain from the travellers of the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, only some scanty notices
of Oriental glass, and these refer exclusively to Syria.
There, it would seem, the fabrication of glass had never
wholly ceased, although the art of executing gilt and
enamelled work was dead ; and the principal articles of
production were the rings and bracelets made of coloured
glass, so dear to Eastern women, especially those of Syria;
and also glasses for domestic purposes, which are described
by Gumpenberg as " pretty ", but are otherwise unknown
to us. Dawson Borer, in the description of his Journey
from Naples to Jerusalem in 18451 speaks also of lamps
* A long-necked bottle, adorned with inscriptions in gold on a blue
ground, and figures of dancing-girls enamelled in various colours (recently in
the possession of the Princess Eleonora Corsini); and an elegant vase, about
a foot in height, made of blue glass, enamelled with inscriptions, birds,
and other ornaments. The latter has a beautiful silver mounting of the
fifteenth century, with German inscriptions, and seems to the author not
much earlier in date than the mounting. Hence he considered the bottle to
be decidedly more recent than the fourteenth century, and probably Persian.
t Voyages de M. le Chevalier Chardin en Perse et autres lieux,
tom. IV, p. 257.
s Dawson Borer: Journey from Naples to Jerusalem 1845, p. 454,
cited by Nesbitt in bis catalogue of the Slade collection.
made there, which were imported into Egypt and other
regions, for the decoration of mosques and houses. But
as to this matter we are quite ignorant, and know neither
how the lamps were made, nor whether they had any
artistic value.
In fig. 37 we reproduce a vessel, made of very thick
glass, greenish in tint, with a sort of cloudy milkiness, and
badly clarified, which is of relatively modern origin. It
comes apparently from Nabi Yahya near Damascus, and has
considerable artistic value.
It was acquired in 1895 by the " Ferdinandeum"
Landes-Museum in Innsbruck, and is a vase 252 mm. in
height; round and full-bellied, with a strong welded ring-
FiQ. 37. 4 Pbae, w Tsroler La.TKseawMeM'M, FerJswaMJeMm., us
T?ms&rMc&. (A&oMs s/iree-yl/Ma sAe stze o/sAe o?*spwu%.)
foot. The neck is short, thick, and nearly cylindrical,
slightly in-bowed, and springs, without a break in the
outline, in a graceful concave sweep from the shoulder of
the vessel. The profile of the vase is elegant in its upper
proportions, but somewhat crushed in the lower part, in
which it has been a little deformed by the fire.
This vase was bought for about 25 florins (out of the
fund left by Johann von Wieser, Statthaltereirath) from
a Tyrolese stone-mason who had been in Syria, and had
obtained it in the place near Damascus mentioned above.
The decoration of the vessel is remarkable.