Bottle belonging to the Atabeg 'Imad al-Din Zang

This bottle with its spherical body resting on a circular base has been badly damaged. It is difficult to imagine the form of the neck. It is inscribed with the name of Imad al-Din Zangi, Turkish governor of Mossul (1127-1146) and founder of the Zangid dynasty[1]. The inscription makes this object the first datable example of gilded glassware in Syria in the twelfth century. This landmark object is especially important given the extraordinary intensity of glasswork production during the Ayyubid period (1169-1249) with the development of enamelled decoration which together with gilt work was mastered to perfection by the Syrian workshops from the last quarter of the twelfth century[2]. 

The decoration is divided, as is often the case in Islamic arts, into horizontal zones defined by delicate lines. A cursive inscription encircles the centre, interspersed with cruciform motifs made from small dots. The lower and upper levels are decorated with pomegranate tree motifs following the form of a leaf which, in turn, recalls the marginal foliate imagery commencing verses of the Koran in the first centuries of Islam. They alternate in the lower level with representation of eagles with spread wings and in the upper level with dancers, one holding a harp, the other castanets. Delicate branches, grouped in threes, are set between them.

The object was blown and engraved with a stylus in a technique introduced in the first century B.C. in the Roman Empire.

The gilt decoration was applied after firing: powdered gold mixed with a binding agent (such as, water, gum arabic or an oily substance). This fragile layer was fixed by firing at a low temperature (650°C). Gilt glassware has been known since Ancient Rome[3]. In the Islamic arts, it was not widespread until the end of the twelfth century. So-called ‘sandwich glass’ (where gold leaf is placed inside two layers of glass) was introduced in the 10th century[4]. Examples of gilt glassware have been found in Byzantine arts[5].

The motifs executed in small strokes prefigure enamel decoration of the Ayyubid period[6].

The cursive epigraphic design which occupies the central zone was frequently employed in the Zangid period, in different media[7]. These types of inscription progressively replaced the foliated kufic script hitherto widely used in the region.

The pomegranate tree, cultivated in Iran for at least 5000 years, was a very popular vegetal motif in Islamic decorative arts in different periods and geographical areas. Employed in Sasanian art, it was then adopted in Umeyyad art in Syria and Andalusia. It was employed in the sixteenth century in Ottoman textiles and ceramics.

The dancers of the upper level demonstrate a close connection to the feminine dancing figures decorating a gilded and enamel crown made in Constantinople in the eleventh century[8]. The garments and the hairstyles are sufficiently similar to reflect the influence of Georgian art and might even suggest the contribution of Christian craftsmen to the decoration of this Zangid bottle.  Dancers are associated, in Islamic art, to the theme of princely pleasures. They recur frequently from the Umeyyad period. Ivories decorated with dancers and musicians were produced in Fatimid Egypt[9].

Eagle imagery, which has been closely linked since Antiquity to the iconography of power, frequently appeared in Byzantine art, which, as we have already suggested, might have other associations with this object.

[2] Goblet, blown glass, traces of gilt and enamel, Syria, c.1181-1207, Washington, Smithsonian American Art Museum, inv. LTS 1985.1.170.8. Photo in L’orient de Saladin, p. 189

[3] Glass basin, decorated with gold leaf representing the monogram of Christ and a hunting scene of Sasanian inspiration, Piedmont, Italy C3rd to C4th, lieu conservation, inv. http://www.glassway.org/vetro/index.cfm?glass=2,98,0,0

[4] Fragment of a basin, blue enamel and gold in sandwich glass, Syria or Iran, C10th, Davids Samling, Copenhague, inv. 4/1987. Photo in Art from the World   of Islam, p213. Tile, sandwich glass, Syria, Inv. AC 102, probably from the church of Maaret el Namaan (south Aleppo).Photo in >Base joconde

[5] Basin in purple glass, gilt and enamel, Constantinople, C10th, Venice, Treasury of Saint-Mark’s.

[6] Goblet with pearlised decoration, enamelled and gilded glass, Syria, first half of C13th, Paris, musée du Louvre, inv. OA 6121. http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=27279

[7] Minbar in name of Nur al-Din Zangi, wood, Syria, 1163, Hama, Hama Museum, inv. 3266.

[8] Crown of Andreas of Hungary, offered by Constantine IX Monomachus to Hungary, Byzantium, 1042-1050, silver gilt, enamelled, pearls, Budapest, Hungarian National Museum, inv. photo du détail = http://bib18.ulb.ac.be/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/shu022&CISOPTR=635&CISOSHOW=633&REC=7

[9] Dancer-musician, Egypt,C9th, ivory, sculpted and engraved, Florence, Bargello Museum, inv.