Scent Bottle with Confronting Birds

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Scent Bottle with Confronting Birds

Place of OriginReportedly Egypt; possibly Iran

Date9th-10th century

DimensionsH (restored): 13.3 cm (5 1/4 in.); W: 5.2 cm (2 in.)

MediumColorless glass; mold-blown, relief-cut, and wheel-cut

ClassificationGlass

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

Object number

1983.79

Not on View

DescriptionThis small, colorless glass vessel features a flattened, lentoid (lens-shaped) body with thick walls carved in high relief. The decoration consists of two stylized, confronting birds standing amidst palmettes and vegetal scrolls. The background of the design has been mechanically ground away, leaving the motifs standing out in relief, mimicking the appearance of carved rock crystal. The vessel originally had a narrow neck, which is now lost; the current neck and rim are modern restorations crafted from plastic/epoxy resin to complete the profile.

Label TextThis small bottle was designed to hold expensive scents, such as musk or rosewater, which were an essential part of daily life in the medieval Islamic courts. It is a masterpiece of deception: made of glass, it was carved using a spinning wheel to imitate the appearance of rock crystal, a naturally occurring quartz that was far more valuable and difficult to work. The thick glass walls were ground away to leave the design of birds and plants standing in high relief. Although the body is original to the 9th or 10th century, the neck is a modern restoration, allowing us to see the vessel’s original elegant shape.Published ReferencesPage, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, p. 60, repr. (col.) p. 61.Exhibition HistoryCorning Museum of Glass; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Athens, Benaki Museum, Glass of the Sultans, 2001-2002, no. 85, p.179-80, repr. (col.).