The term Mamluk glass is almost synonymous with the magnificent enamel-painted mosque lamps that were produced in profusion during the rule of the Mamluk dynasty in Syria and Egypt. However, as witnessed by this large bottle, with its elegant shape and surpassingly rich and varied decoration, the artists and craftsmen of that period were capable of using their talents imaginatively and with a breadth of vision that was open to foreign artistic influence and innovation.

Around the neck of this bottle flies the Chinese feng-huang (phoenix), which became identified pictorially with the Persian mythical bird, the simurgh. The long strands of its tail stream around the neck until they touch its face. The shoulders are decorated with two roundels filled with a dense and vibrant arabesque pattern in gold on a blue background with enlivening touches of red and white, while in the interstices is a lush floral pattern in gold, again with touches of red, white, and blue. At the area of the greatest bulge of the bottle is a frieze of mounted warriors wielding swords, spears, maces, and bows and arrows. The horsemen can be identified by their clothing as both Mongol/Ilkhanid and Arab. It is likely that the scene represents a Mamluk tournament, or furusiyya (horsemanship) exercises, in which some combatants wore Mongol costumes to mimic actual duels.

While the Mamluks were archenemies of the Mongol dynasty ruling Greater Iran, they were not impervious to artistic influences from that quarter. The Ilkhanid rulers of Iran were a branch of the same Mongol descendants of Genghis Khan who established the Yuan dynasty in China, and so at this period Chinese art had a considerable impact on that of Iran. The frieze of horsemen is related to contemporary Persian miniature painting.