Bowl with Zodiac Signs

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Bowl with Zodiac Signs

Place of OriginSyria or Egypt

DateLate 13th century

DimensionsH: 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm)

MediumGlass; blown, with enamelled and gilded decoration.

ClassificationGlass

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

Object number

1941.37

Not on View

Collections

Glass

Published ReferencesAtil, Esin, Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks, Washington DC, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981, no. 48, p. 129, repr. (col.).Exhibition HistoryWashington, National Museum of Natural History; Minneapolis Institute of Art: N.Y., Metropolitan; Cincinnati; Detroit; Phoenix; Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum, Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks, Washington, 1981, no. 48, p. 129, repr. (col.).Label TextThe design of this rare glass Zodiac bowl reflects the Islamic belief in the influence of celestial events on human affairs. The study of the movement of planets and stars was gradually shifting from the hard-science realm of astronomy toward the popular, often mystical terrain of astrology that viewed the universe as a circles-within-circles hierarchy. In Islamic decorative art from this period, the central motif is commonly the sun – here represented by a hexagonal star - rather than the earth. Although astrology was considered a branch of astronomy because it required an understanding of the movement of the planets and the ability to calculate their positions in the future, this view was controversial and not universally accepted as a scientific or ethical practice. Objects with astrological decoration were thought to have talismanic powers and protected the owner from sickness, bad luck, or defeat.