Among the numerous molar flasks -- named for their feet, which resemble the roots of molar teeth -- that have been discovered, this cobalt blue example stands out for its unusually large size. Molar flasks have been found in a variety of places, including Nishapur in Iran and Fustat in Egypt, indicating that they were probably produced or disseminated widely.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Flask
Date:9th century
Geography:Attributed to probably Egypt
Medium:Glass; cut and incised
Dimensions:H. 5 in. (12.7 cm)
Classification:Glass
Credit Line:Museum Accession
Object Number:x.109
Bottle
Although little known outside the field, the early Islamic lapidary industry is one of Islamic art's chief glories, and created one of the world's greatest bodies of lapidary work. Hundreds of early Islamic hardstone vessels and other objects, mostly of rock crystal, survive, the most important being a ewer in the treasury of Saint Mark's, Venice, incorporating an inscription in the name of the Fatimid Caliph, al-'Aziz Billah (A.D. 975–96).
Even more numerous than the crystals are a variety of cut-glass vessels, most commonly colorless but also in a range of colors. The type of piece here has been called "molar bottle," because of its shape; the feet in particular resemble the roots of such a tooth. These and other small bottles were probably most often used for scented oils and other precious cosmetic liquids, and perhaps, for kohl (antimony oxide, used as eye make-up). Such bottles have been found at a variety of early Islamic sites, Nishapur and Fustat (Old Cairo) among them, and at this stage of research, it seems impossible to positively ascribe most of them to a particular production center. This example is of unusually large size, the average being just over half as high.
Manuel Keene in [Berlin 1981]
Unknownprovenance; acquired by the Metropolitan Museum by 1922
Berlin. Museum für Islamische Kunst, Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. "The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the M.M.A.," June 15, 1981–August 8, 1981, no. 11.
"Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York." In The Arts of Islam. Berlin, 1981. no. 11, pp. 48–49, ill. (b/w).
Ali, Wijdan. The Arab Contribution to Islamic Art : From the Seventh to the Fifteenth Centuries. Jordan: The Royal Society of Fine Arts, Jordan, 1999. p.73, ill. fig. 42 (b/w).
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The Met's collection of Islamic art is one of the most comprehensive in the world and ranges in date from the seventh to the twenty-first century. Its more than 15,000 objects reflect the great diversity and range of the cultural traditions from Spain to Indonesia.
