Perfume sprinkler (qumqum)

CultureSyrian
Titles
  • Perfume sprinkler (qumqum)
Date13th century
MediumGlass; blown, marvered, applied, tooled and worked on the pontil
Dimensions4 3/8 × 3 × 1 3/8in. (11.1 × 7.6 × 3.5cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number70.108
Current Location
The Caroline Wiess Law Building
113 Islamic Art Gallery
Exposé

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Object Type
DescriptionIslamic artisans inherited glassmaking techniques and decorative repertoires developed by the Romans, Byzantines, and Sasanians. The MFAH glass objects on view exemplify some of the principal techniques and decorative innovations of early Islamic glassmakers. Mold-blown glass introduces inflated glass into a mold of wood or baked clay, carved with patterns in negative.Marvered glass is created by rolling molten glass against a marver, a strong flat surface containing glass pieces or trails. This allows colored glass pieces to adhere to the surface in intricate patterns. Cameo glass results from layering glass of different colors and carving it deeply enough so that the contrast color forms the design. Enameled glass is painted with vitreous enamel, or powdered glass, then fired to fuse different colors and designs.
ProvenanceRay Winfield Smith, Houston; purchased by MFAH, 1970.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Bottle
11th–12th century
Glass; blown, tooled, applied, and worked on the pontil
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13th century
Glass; blown, tooled, enameled, gilded, and worked on the pontil
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Bottle
12th–13th century
Glass; mold blown, tooled, and worked on the pontil
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Bottle
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