Tall-Necked Bottle

Bottle

The shape of this sub-globular bottle, resting on a rather thick low foot and provided with a very long cylindrical neck pincered at the mouth is usually associated with the site of Gurgan on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Iran. A number of these molded bottles were found there, however this does not necessarily mean that they were also produced at that site. The shape is probably derived from very similar containers in metal produced under the patronage of the Seljuqs of Iran in the 12th–13th centuries.

The molds employed to produce these vessels always show stylized geometrical or pseudo-vegetal patterns. This particular mold, displaying the same honeycombed pattern already noticed on the wheel-cut bottle, MMA 63.159.5, no. 65 in this volume, testifies how the motif was long-lived, from the Sasanian period through the 13th century. After the object was freed from the two- or three-part mold, the blow-pipe was cut off and a pontil was attached to the base; then, the glass left on the top was pulled out with a pincer in order to give shape to the long neck. Although the surface is weathered and slightly corroded, this bottle has survived intact through the centuries, and it is still possible to admire its rich cobalt blue color, a particularly appreciated and sought after hue in the Islamic glass production of all periods.

Stefano Carboni in [Walker et al. 1994]

Marking: Painted in red below base: CAM 170161 / DAVISANN72

J. Lionberger Davis, Princeton, NJ (by 1966–67; 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. 67.

The 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. 67, pp. 178–79, ill. (b/w).