Phial

This phial was acquired on the art market in Madrid in 1973 before it was bought by the State and entered into the collection of the Museo de la Alhambra in 1980. Cylindrical in shape, it tapers upwards and is hollowed out by two troughs from which spring two large rings. The central part is divided in vertical registers, each enclosing a stylized palmetto. The small cavity that originally contained perfume or kohl is a feature that was also used in the Christian world, as was customary, to house a relic. The copper mounting was added later; although we do not know when exactly.  

Objects in rock crystal hold a special place in terms of early productions as they reveal the degree of refinement that marked the courts during the Fatimid Caliphate. And for medieval times, they are rare examples of a technically difficult art:  sculpting of quartz requires great dexterity and very specialized skills.  The disassembly of the immense treasure of the Fatimid Caliphate in 1068 under the reign of ’al-Mustansir, for economic reasons, revealed the existence of an extraordinary collection of objects in rock crystal. From the late 16th century, written references to this craftsmanship disappeared. This leads us to believe that the manufacture of these objects significantly declined towards the middle of the century.

Certain pieces can be quite imposing in size, such as the ewers that were cut out of a single block of crystal, but in general they tend to be quite small. These were valuable objects and were often part of gift exchanges, serving as diplomatic gifts or the spoils of war. This is the case of the small phials that were often used later on in Catholic liturgical functions as cruets or reliquaries. Much like these small phials, a number of chess pieces in rock crystal were also kept in the coffers of Europe’s churches. During the Renaissance some of the great families, such as the Medicis of Florence, acquired many of such pieces for their own collections.

The presence of this type of object on the Iberian Peninsula was probably due to commerce; their diffusion in the Christian kingdoms of the north came about through trading channels or they were procured from the spoils of war.  Today, Spain has forty or so objects in rock crystal in preservation, including phials in different shapes and many chess pieces. Most of these objects belong or belonged in the past to the churches and monasteries dotted along the route of Saint Jacques de Compostelle.

Among other museums with similar objects to the one in the Museo de la Alhambra, we can cite: the Louvre[1], the British Museum as well as the Keir Collection of London and the basilica of Saint-Marc in Venice.