Bottle

Unknown

9th–10th century · Glass; free blown · Islamic Art

The miniature size of this bottle, measuring just under four centimeters tall, suggests that it was intended to hold cosmetic powder or perhaps ink: valuable materials used in small quantities. The idea that it held a relatively valuable material is also echoed in the quality of its material, for it is made out of a slightly-greenish transparent glass of good craftsmanship. This piece was purchased at Nishapur by the archaeologists who led the Metropolitan Museum’s excavations at the site. The excavations themselves yielded many bottles of roughly the same shape and proportions.

Artist

Unknown

Date

9th–10th century

Medium

Glass; free blown

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1937