Bottle
Unknown Artist
mid-17th century
Medium
Stonepaste; molded and glazed
Dimensions
H. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm) W. 5 in. (12.7 cm) D. 2 3/4 in. (7 cm)
Classification
Ceramics
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Patti Birch Gift, in memory of Everett B. Birch, 1988
Accession Number
1988.247
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant bottle, crafted by an unknown artist in the-17th century, the refined ceramics of the Islamic world. Standing just 5¾ inches tall, its compact form—5 inches wide and 2¾ inches deep fashioned from stonepaste, a composite material of quartz, clay, and frit that allowed artisans to create thin, translucent bodies mimicking Chinese porcelain. The bottle was molded for its shape and intricate details, then coated in a glossy glaze that enhances its luminous surface, a technique perfected in Islamic potteries from Persia to the Ottoman Empire. In the Islamic art tradition, such vessels...