Bottle with Four Handles

Unknown

19th century · Glass, blue; blown, hollow folded foot, applied handles and decoration · Islamic Art

By the beginning of the 16th century, Venice became the leading producer and exporter of fine glass wares and many such products became fashionable in Persia. These styles and techniques influenced local production, and factories were created in Shiraz producing wares that rivaled the imports from abroad. These types of wares–with a flared mouth and bulbous body– were produced in vivid blues and greens, illustrating the range of colors employed by glassmakers in the 18th and 19th centuries. This bottle may have been used to decant or store wine, or perhaps as a base of a water pipe. Such vessels were admired for their graceful shapes and often were decoratively displayed within niches of private and public buildings in Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Glass, blue; blown, hollow folded foot, applied handles and decoration

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891