Condition
Intact. Some weathering that has caused iridescence.
Description
Fire-polished, flaring rim; conical neck with large bulge under the rim and a smaller one at its base; elongated, conical body, narrowing to a small flat bottom with a pontil scar (W. 0.5 cm).
Comments and Comparanda
Vessels of this shape are known as “spearhead flasks” due to the tapering of the body toward the narrow bottom. They were recognized as containers for kohl, a cosmetic substance for the decoration of the eyelids, which was archaeologically attested in different sites in Israel and the Sinai Peninsula (Brosh, Naahma. 1993. “Kohl Bottles from Islamic Periods Excavated in Israel.” In Annales du 12e Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, Vienne, 26–31 août 1991, 289–295. Amsterdam: AIHV.; 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., pp. 303–304).
Predecessors of the spearlike flasks with pointed body but smooth neck are known and have been dated between the seventh and ninth centuries (Goldstein, Sidney M., J. M. Rogers, Melanie Gibson, and Jens Kröger. 2005. Glass: From Sasanian Antecedents to European Imitations. Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art 15. London: Nour Foundation., p. 67, no. 55, pp. 72–73, no. 67). The spearhead flasks have been dated from the eighth to the twelfth centuries. In addition to the numerous undecorated free-blown examples (e.g., Auth, Susan Handler. 1976. Ancient Glass at the Newark Museum from the Eugene Schaefer Collection of Antiquities. Newark, NJ: Newark Museum., p. 231, nos. 534–536, esp. no. 535; Dzanpoladian, R. M., and A. A. Kalantarian. 1998. Torgoviye svyazi srednevekovnoi Armenii v VI–XIII vv. (po dannym steklodeliya). Erevan: A. N. Armiansko’i SSR., p. 24, no. 55, plate XLIII:7; Arakelian, B. N., G. A Tiratzian, and G. D. Khachatrian. 1969. The Glass of Ancient Armenia. The Archeological Monuments of Armenia 3; Monument and Speciments of Ancient Period, 1. Yerevan., p. 64, no. 148; von Saldern, Axel. 1974. Glassammlung Hentrich. Antike und Islam. Düsseldorf: Kunstmuseum., p. 243, no. 381; 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., p. 43, forms 18a–d; 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. 68–69 type Sb44; Goldstein, Sidney M., J. M. Rogers, Melanie Gibson, and Jens Kröger. 2005. Glass: From Sasanian Antecedents to European Imitations. Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art 15. London: Nour Foundation., p. 222, no. 256; Whitehouse, David B. 2014. Islamic Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, vol. 2. Corning, NY: Corning Museum of Glass., pp. 51–53, nos. 671, 674, 676; 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. 40–41, 164–165, plate 38:784–786), there are published several examples with marvered decoration (Lamm, Carl Johan. 1930. Mittelalterliche Gläser und Steinschnittarbeiten aus dem Nahen Osten, I–II. Forschungen zur islamischen Kunst 5. Berlin: D. Reimer., plate 32:5–7; Harden, Donald Benjamin. 1955. “The Glass Found at Soba.” In Peter L. Shinnie, Excavations at Soba, 60–76. Sudan Antiquities Service, Occasional Papers III. Khartoum: Sudan Antiquities Service., p. 63, no. 14, fig. 37; Whitecomb, Donald S. 1983. “Islamic Glass from Qusayr al-Qadim, Egypt.” Journal of Glass Studies 25: 101–108., p. 102, fig. 2.cc, ee, mm, nn; Taniichi, Takashi. 1987. Catalogue of Near Eastern Glass in the Okayama Orient Museum, vol. 4: Catalogue of Ancient Glass. Okayama: The Museum., pp. 53, 90, no. 108; von Saldern, Axel. 1968. Ancient Glass in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts., no. 69, plate 68; Carboni, Stefano, and David Whitehouse, eds. 2001. Glass of the Sultans, exh. cat. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art., p. 139, no. 55; Carboni, Stefano. 2001. Glass from Islamic Lands: The Al-Sabah Collection. London: Thames & Hudson., pp. 304–305, nos. 80a–c; Goldstein, Sidney M., J. M. Rogers, Melanie Gibson, and Jens Kröger. 2005. Glass: From Sasanian Antecedents to European Imitations. Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art 15. London: Nour Foundation., p. 261, nos. 300–303) and with spiraling or vertical ribbing (Carboni, Stefano. 2001. Glass from Islamic Lands: The Al-Sabah Collection. London: Thames & Hudson., p. 242, no. 3.29a; Whitehouse, David B. 2014. Islamic Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, vol. 2. Corning, NY: Corning Museum of Glass., pp. 105, 114, no. 805) and with mold-blown motifs (von Saldern, Axel. 1968. Ancient Glass in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts., p. 94, no. 68; 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., p. 43, form 18e; Whitehouse, David B. 2014. Islamic Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, vol. 2. Corning, NY: Corning Museum of Glass., pp. 105, 107–108, nos. 788, 792).
Provenance
By 1974–1988, Erwin Oppenländer, 1901–1988 (Waiblingen, Germany), by inheritance to his son, Gert Oppenländer, 1988; 1988–2003, Gert Oppenländer (Waiblingen, Germany), sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003
Bibliography
Saldern von, Axel, Birgit Nolte, Peter La Baume, and Thea Elisabeth Haevernick. 1974. Gläser der Antike. Sammlung Erwin Oppenländer. Mainz: von Zabern., p. 244, no. 711.
Exhibitions
Gläser der Antike: Sammlung Erwin Oppenländer (Hamburg and Cologne, 1974–1975)