GLASS IN EARLY ISLAMIC SOCIETY- TOWARD A GREATER UNDERSTANDING

Patricia L. BAKER

doi:10.5356/orient1960.39.3

Patricia L. BAKER

Author information

Keywords: Islam, glass, Middle East, Mediaeval, literature

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2004 Volume 39 Pages 3-17

DOI https://doi.org/10.5356/orient1960.39.3

Details

Published: 2004 Received: - Available on J-STAGE: March 24, 2008 Accepted: - Advance online publication: - Revised: -
Correction information
Date of correction: March 24, 2008 Reason for correction: - Correction: KEYWORD Details: Wrong : Keywords: Islam, glass, Middle East, Mediaeval
Right : Islam, glass, Middle East, Mediaeval, literature

Date of correction: March 24, 2008 Reason for correction: - Correction: CITATION Details: Wrong : Abdul-Hak, S. 1960: "Contribution <agrave l'<eacutetude...," Annales du 1^er congr<egravees de l'Association internationale pour l'histoire du verre, Li<egravege 1958, 79-96.
Allan, J. 1995: Foreword to Islamic Art in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Studies in Islamic Artno. X (i), Oxford.
Ashtor, E. 1992: "Levantine Alkali Ashes and European Industries," Technology, Industry andTrade..., Croft Road, U.K., section VII, 478-522.
Baker, P. L. 2000: "The Glass Finds," in A. D. H. Bivar (ed.), Excavations at Ghubeyra, Iran, London, 197-233.
Baker, P. L. forthcoming: "Glass Finds at Bahnasa (working title)," in G. Fehervari (ed.), Final Report of the Bahnasa Excavations, Egypt (working title).
Binyon, L. et al. 1933: Persian Miniature Painting, London.
Bosworth, C. E. 1968: The Lata'if al-ma 'arif of Tha 'alibi, Edinburgh.
Bosworth, C. E. 1999: tr. and ed. al-Tabari, Ta'rikh al-rusul w'al-muluk, vol. 5, "The Sasanids, theByzantines...," Albany.
Brinner, W. M. 1991: tr. and ed. al-Tabari, Ta'rikh al-rusul w'al-muluk, vol. 3, "Children ofIsrael," Albany.
Brosh, N. 1990: "Glass window fragments from Khirbet al-Mafjar," Annales du 11^er congr<egraves de l'Association internationale pour l'histoire du verre, Basel 1988, Amsterdam, 247-56.
Burckhardt, J. L. 1972: Arabic Proverbs (first pub. 1830), London.
Carboni, S. 2001: Glass of the Sultans, New York.
Catalogue 1976: Catalogue (du) Mus<eacutee national de Damas, Damascus.
Charleston, R. 1974: "Glass in Persia in the Safavid Period and Later," Art < ArchaeologyResearch Papers 5, 12-27.
Dow, M. 1996: The Islamic Baths of Palestine, Oxford.
EI²: Encyclopaedia of Islam, second edition, 11 vols., Leiden / London, 1960-2002.
Evliya <Ccedilelebi 1968: Narrative of Travels... 1611-80, reprint, New York.
Flood, F. B. 1999: "Light in Stone," in J. Johns (ed.), Bayt al-Maqdis: Jerusalem and Early Islam, Oxford Studies in Islamic Art no. IX (ii), Oxford, 311-60.
Gaulmier, J. 1937: "Note sur la fabrication du verre <agrave Armanaz," Bulletin d'<eacutetudes orientales 6,
Goitein, S. D. 1999:A Mediterranean Society, 6 vols., paperback ed., Berkeley.
Grabar, 0. et al. 1978: City in the Desert: Qasr al-Hayr East, 2 vols., Harvard Middle EasternMonograph Series XXIII/XXIV, Cambridge, MA.
Grabar, O. 1993: "Umayyad Palaces Reconsidered," Ars Orientalis 23, 93-108.
Hamilton, R. W. 1959: Khirbat al-Mafjar: an Arabian Mansion in the Jordan Valley, Oxford.
Hamilton, R. W. 1988: Walid and his friends: an Umayyad tragedy, Oxford Studies in Islamic Artno. VI, Oxford.
H[enry] C[hick] 1939: A Chronicle of the Carmelites in Persia, 2 vols., London.
Henein, N. H. < J. F. Gout 1974: Le verre souffl<eacute en Egypte, Cairo.
Henderson, J. 1996: "Report on Raqqa archaeological excavation," Levant 28, 212.
Henderson, J. 1999: "Archaeological and Scientific Evidence for the Production of Early IslamicGlass in al-Raqqa, Syria," Levant 31, 231-46.
Imam, C. 1964: "L'artisanat du verre en Syrie," Annales du 3^e congr<egraves de l'Association internationale pour l'histoire du verre, Damas 1964, 184-90.
Joundi, A. 1976: Mus<eacutee national de Damas: D<eacutepartement des antiquit<eacutes syro-orientales, Damascus.
Jomard, E. F. c. 1809: "<Eacutetat moderne," Description d'<Eacutegypte, 2 vols., Paris.
Kramarovsky, M. 1998: "The import and manufacture of glass in the territories of the GoldenHorde," in R. Ward (ed.), Gilded and Enamelled Glass from the Middle East, London.
Kroger, J. 1995: Nishapur: Glass of the Early Islamic Period, New York.
Lafond, J. 1968: "D<eacutecouverte de vitraux histori<eacutes du Moyen-<Acircge <agrave Constantinople," Cahiers arch<eacuteologiques 18, 231-38.
Lamm, C. J. 1928: Das Glas von Samarra, Berlin.
Lamm, C. J. 1941: Oriental Glass of Mediaeval Date Found in Sweden and the Early History ofLustre-Painting, Stockholm.
McNeill, W. H. < M. R. Waldman 1973: The Islamic World, New York.
Margoliouth, D. S. 1954: The Table-talk of a Mesopotamian Judge, London.
Mayer, L. A. 1954: "Islamic glassmakers and their works," Israel Exploration Journal 4, 262-65.
Melikian-Chirvani, A. S. 1971: "Le Royaume de Salomon: les inscriptions persanes de sites arch<eacutem<eacutenides," Le monde iranien et l'Islam 1, 1-41.
Necipoglu-Kafadar, G. 1985: "The S<uumlleymaniye Complex in Istanbul: An Interpretation,"Muqarnas 3, 92-117.
Necipoglu, G. 1997: "The suburban landscape of 16th century Istanbul as a mirror...," in A.Petruccioli (ed.), Gardens in the time of the great Muslim Empires, Leiden, 32-37.
Northedge, A. < R. Falkner 1987: "The 1986 Survey Season at Sammara," Iraq 49, 143-73 andplates.
Philipp, Th. < M. Perlemann 1994: 'Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti's "History of Egypt...," 4 vols., Stuttgart.
Al-Qaddumi, Gh. H. 1996: tr. and ed., Book of Gifts and Rarities, Cambridge, M.A.
Reut, M. 1973: "Le verre souffl<eaute de Herat," Studia Iranica 2, 97-111.
Rice, D. S. 1958: "Early Signed Islamic Glass," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society [of GreatBritain...], April, 8-16.
Rogers, J. M. 1983: "Glass in Ottoman Turkey," Istanbuler Mitteilungen 33, 239-67.
Rosenthal, F. 1967: Ibn Khaldun: the Muqaddimah, an Introduction to History, Bollingen Series XLIII, New York.
Rosenthal, F. 1981: tr. and ed. al-Tabari, Ta 'rikh al-rusul w 'al-muluk, vol. 1, "GeneralIntroduction and From the Creation to the Flood," Albany.
Salam-Liebich, H. 1978: "Glass Finds," in Grabar 1978, I, 138-47.
Schimmel, A. 1992: A Two-Colored Brocade, Chapel Hill.
Scott-Meisami, J. 2001: "The Palace-Complex as Emblem: Some Samarran Qasidas," in C. F.Robinson (ed.), A Medieval Islamic City Reconsidered, Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, no. XIV, 69-78.
Serjeant, R. B. 1972: Islamic Textiles: Material.for a History up to the Mongol Conquest, Beirut.
Serjeant, R. B. 1997: tr. Abu 'Uthman ibn Bhar al-Jahiz: The Book of Misers, Reading, U.K.
Shatzmiller, M. 1994: Labour in the Medieval Islamic World, Leiden.
Signer, M. A. et al. 1980: The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, Malibu.
Soucek, P. P. 1975: review of O. Grabar, The Formation of Islamic Art (1973) in Iranian Studies 8,248-63.
Soucek, P. P. 1976: "The Temple of Solomon in Islamic Legend and Art," in J. Guttmann (ed.), The Temple of Solomon, Missoula, MT., 73-123.
Soucek, P. P. 1993: "Solomon's throne / Solomon's Bath: model or metaphor," Ars Orientalis 23,109-34.
Thackston Jr., W. 1978: The Tales of the Prophet of a-Kisa'i, Boston.
Volney, C.-F. de 1787: Travels through Syria and Egypt in the years 1783, 1784, and 1785, 2 vols.,London.
Weinberg, G. D. 1987: "A Glass Factory of Crusader Times in Northern Israel: a preliminaryreport," Annales du 10^e congres de l'Association internationale pour
l'histoire du verre, Madrid, Amsterdam, 305-16.
Wulff, H. E. 1966: The Traditional Crafts of Persia, Cambridge, MA.

Right : Abdul-Hak, S. 1960: "Contribution à l'étude...," Annales du 1^er congrèes de l'Association internationale pour l'histoire du verre, Liège 1958, 79-96.
Allan, J. 1995: Foreword to Islamic Art in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Studies in Islamic Artno. X (i), Oxford.
Ashtor, E. 1992: "Levantine Alkali Ashes and European Industries," Technology, Industry andTrade..., Croft Road, U.K., section VII, 478-522.
Baker, P. L. 2000: "The Glass Finds," in A. D. H. Bivar (ed.), Excavations at Ghubeyra, Iran, London, 197-233.
Baker, P. L. forthcoming: "Glass Finds at Bahnasa (working title)," in G. Fehervari (ed.), Final Report of the Bahnasa Excavations, Egypt (working title).
Binyon, L. et al. 1933: Persian Miniature Painting, London.
Bosworth, C. E. 1968: The Lata'if al-ma 'arif of Tha 'alibi, Edinburgh.
Bosworth, C. E. 1999: tr. and ed. al-Tabari, Ta'rikh al-rusul w'al-muluk, vol. 5, "The Sasanids, theByzantines...," Albany.
Brinner, W. M. 1991: tr. and ed. al-Tabari, Ta'rikh al-rusul w'al-muluk, vol. 3, "Children ofIsrael," Albany.
Brosh, N. 1990: "Glass window fragments from Khirbet al-Mafjar," Annales du 11^er congrès de l'Association internationale pour l'histoire du verre, Basel 1988, Amsterdam, 247-56.
Burckhardt, J. L. 1972: Arabic Proverbs (first pub. 1830), London.
Carboni, S. 2001: Glass of the Sultans, New York.
Catalogue 1976: Catalogue (du) Musée national de Damas, Damascus.
Charleston, R. 1974: "Glass in Persia in the Safavid Period and Later," Art & ArchaeologyResearch Papers 5, 12-27.
Dow, M. 1996: The Islamic Baths of Palestine, Oxford.
EI²: Encyclopaedia of Islam, second edition, 11 vols., Leiden / London, 1960-2002.
Evliya Çelebi 1968: Narrative of Travels... 1611-80, reprint, New York.
Flood, F. B. 1999: "Light in Stone," in J. Johns (ed.), Bayt al-Maqdis: Jerusalem and Early Islam, Oxford Studies in Islamic Art no. IX (ii), Oxford, 311-60.
Gaulmier, J. 1937: "Note sur la fabrication du verre à Armanaz," Bulletin d'études orientales 6,53-59
Goitein, S. D. 1999:A Mediterranean Society, 6 vols., paperback ed., Berkeley.
Grabar, O. et al. 1978: City in the Desert: Qasr al-Hayr East, 2 vols., Harvard Middle EasternMonograph Series XXIII/XXIV, Cambridge, MA.
Grabar, O. 1993: "Umayyad Palaces Reconsidered," Ars Orientalis 23, 93-108.
Hamilton, R. W. 1959: Khirbat al-Mafjar: an Arabian Mansion in the Jordan Valley, Oxford.
Hamilton, R. W. 1988: Walid and his friends: an Umayyad tragedy, Oxford Studies in Islamic Artno. VI, Oxford.
H[enry] C[hick] 1939: A Chronicle of the Carmelites in Persia, 2 vols., London.
Henein, N. H. & J. F. Gout 1974: Le verre soufflé en Egypte, Cairo.
Henderson, J. 1996: "Report on Raqqa archaeological excavation," Levant 28, 212.
Henderson, J. 1999: "Archaeological and Scientific Evidence for the Production of Early IslamicGlass in al-Raqqa, Syria," Levant 31, 231-46.
Imam, C. 1964: "L'artisanat du verre en Syrie," Annales du 3^e congrès de l'Association internationale pour l'histoire du verre, Damas 1964, 184-90.
Joundi, A. 1976: Musée national de Damas: Département des antiquités syro-orientales, Damascus.
Jomard, E. F. c. 1809: "État moderne," Description d'Égypte, 2 vols., Paris.
Kramarovsky, M. 1998: "The import and manufacture of glass in the territories of the GoldenHorde," in R. Ward (ed.), Gilded and Enamelled Glass from the Middle East, London.
Kröger, J. 1995: Nishapur: Glass of the Early Islamic Period, New York.
Lafond, J. 1968: "Découverte de vitraux historiés du Moyen-Âge à Constantinople," Cahiers archéologiques 18, 231-38.
Lamm, C. J. 1928: Das Glas von Samarra, Berlin.
Lamm, C. J. 1941: Oriental Glass of Mediaeval Date Found in Sweden and the Early History ofLustre-Painting, Stockholm.
McNeill, W. H. & M. R. Waldman 1973: The Islamic World, New York.
Margoliouth, D. S. 1954: The Table-talk of a Mesopotamian Judge, London.
Mayer, L. A. 1954: "Islamic glassmakers and their works," Israel Exploration Journal 4, 262-65.
Melikian-Chirvani, A. S. 1971: "Le Royaume de Salomon: les inscriptions persanes de sites archéménides," Le monde iranien et l'Islam 1, 1-41.
Necipoglu-Kafadar, G. 1985: "The Süleymaniye Complex in Istanbul: An Interpretation,"Muqarnas 3, 92-117.
Necipoglu, G. 1997: "The suburban landscape of 16th century Istanbul as a mirror...," in A.Petruccioli (ed.), Gardens in the time of the great Muslim Empires, Leiden, 32-37.
Northedge, A. & R. Falkner 1987: "The 1986 Survey Season at Sammara," Iraq 49, 143-73 andplates.
Philipp, Th. & M. Perlemann 1994: 'Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti's "History of Egypt...," 4 vols., Stuttgart.
Al-Qaddumi, Gh. H. 1996: tr. and ed., Book of Gifts and Rarities, Cambridge, M.A.
Reut, M. 1973: "Le verre soufflé de Herat," Studia Iranica 2, 97-111.
Rice, D. S. 1958: "Early Signed Islamic Glass," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society [of GreatBritain...], April, 8-16.
Rogers, J. M. 1983: "Glass in Ottoman Turkey," Istanbuler Mitteilungen 33, 239-67.
Rosenthal, F. 1967: Ibn Khaldun: the Muqaddimah, an Introduction to History, Bollingen Series XLIII, New York.
Rosenthal, F. 1981: tr. and ed. al-Tabari, Ta 'rikh al-rusul w 'al-muluk, vol. 1, "GeneralIntroduction and From the Creation to the Flood," Albany.
Salam-Liebich, H. 1978: "Glass Finds," in Grabar 1978, I, 138-47.
Schimmel, A. 1992: A Two-Colored Brocade, Chapel Hill.
Scott-Meisami, J. 2001: "The Palace-Complex as Emblem: Some Samarran Qasidas," in C. F.Robinson (ed.), A Medieval Islamic City Reconsidered, Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, no. XIV, 69-78.
Serjeant, R. B. 1972: Islamic Textiles: Material.for a History up to the Mongol Conquest, Beirut.
Serjeant, R. B. 1997: tr. Abu 'Uthman ibn Bhar al-Jahiz: The Book of Misers, Reading, U.K.
Shatzmiller, M. 1994: Labour in the Medieval Islamic World, Leiden.
Signer, M. A. et al. 1980: The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, Malibu.
Soucek, P. P. 1975: review of O. Grabar, The Formation of Islamic Art (1973) in Iranian Studies 8,248-63.
Soucek, P. P. 1976: "The Temple of Solomon in Islamic Legend and Art," in J. Guttmann (ed.), The Temple of Solomon, Missoula, MT., 73-123.
Soucek, P. P. 1993: "Solomon's throne / Solomon's Bath: model or metaphor," Ars Orientalis 23,109-34.
Thackston Jr., W. 1978: The Tales of the Prophet of a-Kisa'i, Boston.
Volney, C.-F. de 1787: Travels through Syria and Egypt in the years 1783, 1784, and 1785, 2 vols.,London.
Weinberg, G. D. 1987: "A Glass Factory of Crusader Times in Northern Israel: a preliminaryreport," Annales du 10^e congrès de l'Association internationale pour l'histoire du verre, Madrid, Amsterdam, 305-16.
Wulff, H. E. 1966: The Traditional Crafts of Persia, Cambridge, MA.

Date of correction: March 24, 2008 Reason for correction: - Correction: PDF FILE Details: -

Abstract

Our knowledge of glass production in the Mediaeval Islamic Middle East has been augmented by recent archaeological excavations in the region, although we still await the publication of a number of reports, describing in detail the significant vessels and furnace finds. This article suggests that investigation of the early and mediaeval literary sources from the Arab world could also lead us to a greater appreciation of how glass was valued and appreciated in those times, and of what qualities were deemed more aesthetically important by the purchases and collector. Yet these very qualities were for some reason set aside by the fourteenth century, when highly decorated enamelled and gilded work on poor quality glass had become the fashion at the Mamluk court.

Corresponding author

Correction information

Register with J-STAGE for free!