Condition
Cracked and mended. Iridescence and incrustation on both the exterior and the interior.
Description
Fire-polished rim; cylindrical neck, tapering toward the sloping shoulder; four-sided body, square in cross section; flat, slightly concave bottom.
Comments and Comparanda
Vessels with square or polygonal body, usually mold-blown, first appear in the Umayyad period, but they become quite common in the Abbasid–Fatimid periods. The shape was very convenient for packing and probably evolved for this reason. Many sites in the Syro-Palestinian region, but also in Iraq, Egypt, and East Africa, have yielded finds dated between the eighth and tenth centuries: Pella (Edwards, P. C., et al. 1990. “Preliminary Report on the University of Sydney’s Tenth Season of Excavations at Pella (Tabaqat Fahl) in 1988.” Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 34: 57–86., p. 86, fig. 13:8); Beirut (Jennings, S. 2004/5. Vessel Glass from Beirut. BEY 006, 007, and 045. Berytus Archaeological Studies 48–49. Beirut: American University of Beirut., p. 214); al-Mina (Lane, Arthur. 1937. “Medieval Finds at Al Mina in North Syria.” Archaeologia 87: 19–78., p. 65, fig. 10:H); Seleucia (Negro Ponzi, Mariamaddalena. 1970–71. “Islamic Glassware from Seleucia.” Mesopotamia 5–6: 67–104., p. 79, no. 40); Jerusalem (Crowfoot, J. W., and G. M. Fitzgerald. 1929. Excavations in the Tyropoeon Valley, Jerusalem, 1927. Palestine Exploration Fund Annual 5. London: Palestine Exploration Fund., p. 98, plate XXI:2); Beit She’an (Hadad, Shulamit. 2005. Islamic Glass Vessels from the Hebrew University Excavations at Bet Shean. Qedem Report 8. Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem., pp. 39–40, nos. 696–703, wherein all previous bibliography is cited); Yoqne’am (Lester, Ayala. 1996. “The Glass from Yoqne’am: The Early Islamic, Crusader, and Mamluk Periods.” In A. Ben-Tor et al. Yoqne’am 1: The Late Periods, 202–217. Qedem Report 3. Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University., pp. 206–208, fig. XVII.6:1–8, photo XVIII.1. no. 38); Ramla (Gorin-Rosen, Yael, and Natalya Katsnelson. 2005. “Glass Finds from the Salvage Excavation at Ramla.” ‘Atiqot 49: 101–114., p. 112, no. 41; Pollak, Rachel. 2007. “Excavation in Marcus Street, Ramla: The Glass Vessels.” Contract Archaeology Reports 2: 100–133., p. 126, fig. 11:7); Fustat (Scanlon, George T., and Ralph H. Pinder-Wilson. 2001. Fustat Glass of the Early Islamic Period: Finds Excavated by the American Research Center in Egypt, 1964–1980. London: Altajir World of Islam Trust., pp. 66–67, forms 34a–e, f; Shindo, Yoko. 1992. “Glass.” In Egyptian Islamic City al-Fustat, Excavation Report 1978–1985 [in Japanese], ed. K. Sakurai and M. Kawatoko, 304–335, 572–658. Tokyo: Waseda University Press., fig. IV-6–15:7–11); Kom el-Dikka (Shindo, Yoko. 2004. “Glassware from the Raya Site.” In Archaeological Survey of the Raya/al-Tur Area on the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, 2003, ed. M. Kawatoko, 51–53. Tokyo: Committee for Islamic Archaeology in Egypt, Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan., p. 33, fig. 1:12–13); Raya (Shindo, Yoko. 2004. “Glassware from the Raya Site.” In Archaeological Survey of the Raya/al-Tur Area on the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, 2003, ed. M. Kawatoko, 51–53. Tokyo: Committee for Islamic Archaeology in Egypt, Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan., pp. 51–53, plate 12:13); Soba (Morrison, H. M. 1991. “Vessels of Glass.” In D. A. Welsby and C. M. Daniels, Soba: Archaeological Research at a Medieval Capital on the Blue Nile, 246–259. London: British Institute in Eastern Africa., p. 257, no. 79, fig. 147:79); Iraq (Hunein, Q. R. 1983. “The 1980/1 Excavations at Tell Ya’asub al-Din in Babylon: Preliminary Results.” Sumer 39: 233–250 (Arabic)., pp. 248–250, fig. 29); ‘Ana (Bamber, A. 1988. “The Glass.” In A. Northedge et al., Excavations at ‘Ana, Qal’a Island, 115–125. Warminster: British Institute for the Study of Iraq.: 124, fig. 53:10); Samarra (Lamm, Carl Johan. 1928. Das Glas von Samarra. Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra 4. Forschungen zur Islamischen Kunst 2. Berlin: Reimer/Vohsen., p. 24, nos. 79, 87); Iran (Lamm, Carl Johan. 1935. Glass from Iran in the National Museum, Stockholm. Uppsala: C. E. Fritzes., p. 9, plate II:E–N, P; Kröger, Jens. 1995. Nishapur: Glass of the Early Islamic Period. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art., p. 150, no. 201); Tunisia (Foy, Danièle. 2020. Le verre de Sabra al-Mansuriya (Kairouan, Tunisie), milieu Xe–milieu XIe siècle. Production et consommation: Vaisselle–contenants–vitrages. Archaeology of the Maghreb 1. Oxford: Archaeopress., pp. 75, 78, fig. 31, type Sb11); Manda island on the coast of Kenya (Morrison, H. M. 1984. “The Glass.” In N. Chittick, Manda: Excavations at an Island Port on the Kenya Coast, 159–179. Nairobi: British Institute in Eastern Africa., p. 171, fig. 138:b); Mafia in East Africa (Morrison, H. M. 1987. “Unpublished Medieval Glass from the Island of Mafia in East Africa.” In Annales du 10e Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, Madrid-Ségovie, 23–28 septembre 1985, 299–304. Amsterdam: AIHV., p. 303, fig. 4:2). The latest-known bottle of this type was discovered in the Crusader fortress of Montfort (Qal’at al-Qurein), dated to the thirteenth century (Dean, B. 1927. A Crusader’s Fortress in Palestine. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art., p. 40, fig. 47).
Provenance
1979, Edwin A. Lipps, 1922–1988 (Pacific Palisades, California), donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1979
Bibliography
Unpublished
Exhibitions
None