Bottle with Wheel-Cut Facets

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Bottle with Wheel-Cut Facets

Place of OriginLikely Iran

Date7th-8th century

DimensionsH: 5 15/16 in. (15.1 cm); Diam: 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)

MediumBlown, wheel-cut, and polished colorless glass.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1967.7

Not on View

DescriptionThis is a bottle made of thick, nearly colorless blown glass, measuring 5 15/16 inches high and 3 3/4 inches in diameter. The vessel has a globular body, a tall cylindrical neck, and a flat, everted rim. The entire surface is decorated with wheel-cut facets. The body features a pattern of large, concave circular facets, and the neck is adorned with horizontal cut bands. The glass, originally transparent, now appears somewhat cloudy in the body but remains clear at the rim.

Label TextThis bottle's sparkling, jewel-like surface was not created in a mold but was carved with painstaking labor after the glass was blown. An expert craftsperson in Sasanian Persia (modern Iran) held the thick-walled vessel against a spinning wheel, skillfully grinding away glass to create the precise circular facets. This difficult technique, which required immense control, was designed to mimic the appearance of vessels carved from expensive rock crystal. Originally believed to be Roman, scholars now attribute this piece to the 7th or 8th century, a time of transition from the Sasanian Empire to the early Islamic period. Such luxurious objects were symbols of wealth and power, used to hold precious liquids like wine or perfume.Published ReferencesSangiorgi, Giorgio. Collezione di Vetri Antichi dalle Origini al V Secolo D.C. Milan and Rome: Casa Editrice d'Arte Bestetti e Tumminelli, 1914, no. 137, pl. XXVI.

Toledo Museum of Art. Art in Glass, A Guide to the Glass Collections. Toledo, OH: Toledo Museum of Art, 1969, repr. p. 33.

Exhibition HistoryDenver, CO, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathways to the Modern World, 2014-2015.