Footed Bowl

Stemmed Cup

Egypt and Syria under the Ayyubids in the late 12th century and in the first half of the 13th century witnessed the birth of a new exciting technique of glass enameling. Unlike in the distant past, in the Roman period when enamels were painted as a thin polychrome film on the surface of the glass, under the Ayyubids the enamels were applied on the objects as a viscous material and subsequently fired in the muffle-kiln at various temperatures, according to their different needs. Under the Mamluks, the dynasty that replaced the Ayyubids from 1250 A.D., the technique was perfected to the highest degree: the master-enamelers were so skilled in controlling the temperature in the kiln that the enamels could be successfully amalgated to the surface of the vessel without damage to the object itself and also avoiding that it be melted or lopsided.

This standing cup or tazza is composed of three pieces: foot, stem, and bowl, all of them decorated with polychrome enamels (blue, red, white, green, and yellow) and gilded, although the gold paint has almost entirely disappeared. The motifs include stylized lotus flowers, vegetal ornaments in the larger medallions, and open-winged eagles in the smaller medallions; the Arabic word "the Learned" is repeated three times on the foot; the background is also filled with continuous vegetal motifs outlined in red, once gilded.

This large vessel probably functioned as a container for fruit or sweetmeat and would originally have been surmounted by a knobbed lid.

Stefano Carboni in [Walker et al. 1994]

Inscription: In Arabic repeated three times on foot: The Learned

[ B.K. Ispenian, Cairo, until 1923; sold to Macy]; Mr. and Mrs. V. Everit Macy, New York (1923; gifted to MMA)

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 69.

The Hagop Kevorkian Special Exhibitions Gallery, New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Nature of Islamic Ornament Part II: Vegetal Patterns," September 10, 1998–January 10, 1999, no catalogue.

Los Angeles. J. Paul Getty Museum. "The Arts of Fire: Islamic Influences on the Italian Renaissance," May 4, 2004–September 5, 2004, pl. 4.

Dimand, Maurice S. A Handbook of Mohammedan Decorative Arts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1930. pp. 197–98, ill. fig. 122 (b/w).

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahli, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 69, pp. 182–83, ill. (color).

Hess, Catherine. "Islamic Influences on Glass and Ceramics of the Italian Renaissance." In The Arts of Fire. Los Angeles, 2004. pp. 82–83, ill. pl. 4 (color), cover (color).