Islamic Olive Green Glass Flask

The culture that created this lovely vase has vanished into time, leaving behind only tantalizing clues like this. Behind this delicate glass–whose survival seems a whim of fate– there is no doubt a history filled with human dreams and passions, though we can only guess at the truth. Still, when we gaze upon this vessel with pleasure, we are surely sharing something specific with a person who lived long ago. GF. 0039: Small jar, free-blown green glass with trailed decoration. The globular body has a short, waisted widely opening neck with an everted and rim and rests on an attached ring with a deeply sunken concave base.. The body has four trailed H- shaped designs and a horizontal band running around the shoulder. Syria or Palestine, 7th – 8th century. Ht. 7cm; Top diam. 3.1cm; Base diam. 3.2cm. Comparative material: there are several similar small jars,but with different decoration in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, cf. Goldstein, cat. nos.14 – 15, pp.38-39; also Israeli, cat.nos.432-435, pp.334- 335; Carboni, cat.no.5b, inv.no. LNS 47 KG, pp.26- 27. Prof. Geza Fehervari Prof. Geoffrey King – (GF.0039)