Demonstrating both beauty and utility, the glass artifacts of the medieval Islamic world range from ornate personal items to essential tools for trade.
Many objects made of glass survive from the medieval Islamic world. Made of silica mixed with sand and worked from a molten to solid form, glass can be free-blown, molded, marvered, scratched, and relief-cut. It can also be transparent, opaque, variously colored, iridescent, and even decorated with gold or enamel paint. Glass objects are just as varied as their techniques of manufacture, coloration, and decoration. They include lamps, cups, ewers, and small flasks that contained perfume, essential oils, and kohl (ground stibnite used as eyeliner). Beyond these cosmetic implements central to hygiene and self-beautification, glass played an important role in medieval Islamic trade and finance, as evidenced by the glass coins and weights that were used to measure metal currency and food products in bulk—above all olive and grain sold on the market.
Pouring Spout and Ornate Thumb Rest
Blown and cut glass
10th–12th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1970. KM 1970.3.60
Molar Flask
Blown and cut glass
9th–10th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1970. KM 1970.3.1011
Large Molar Flask
Cut glass
Possibly 9th–10th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1968. KM 1968.2.43
Molar Flask
Cut glass
Possibly 9th–10th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1968. KM 1968.2.41
Molar Flask
Cut glass
Possibly 9th–10th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1968. KM 1968.2.13
Flask with Aquatic Pattern
Free-blown and marvered glass
11th–12th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1968. KM 1968.2.100
Bottle in the Shape of a Miniature Amphora
Cut glass
10th–11th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1968. KM 1968.2.63
Iridescent Glass Vessel Fragments
Scratch-engraved glass
8th–9th centuries CE
Fustat (medieval Cairo), Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1970. KM 1970.3.514, 1970.3.515
Fragments from Different Vessels or Lamps
Enamel-painted and gilded glass
13th–15th centuries CE
Fustat (medieval Cairo), Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1970. KM 1970.3.652, 1970.3.669
Large Coin Weight
Green glass
8th–12th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1964. KM 1964.2.14
Coin Weight
Green glass
10th–12th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift. KM 91244
Coin Weight
Turquoise glass
717–720 CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift, 1964. KM 1964.2.13
Coin Weight
Brown glass
8th–9th centuries CE
Egypt. A. G. Ruthven gift. KM 91481
