Islamic Glass in the Making

New insights into the history of Islamic glassmaking

The ancient glass industry changed dramatically towards the end of the first millennium. The Roman glassmaking tradition of mineral soda glass was increasingly supplanted by the use of plant ash as the main fluxing agent at the turn of the ninth century CE. Defining primary production groups of plant ash glass has been a challenge due to the high variability of raw materials and the smaller scale of production. Islamic Glass in the Making advocates a large-scale archaeometric approach to the history of Islamic glassmaking to trace the developments in the production, trade and consumption of vitreous materials between the eighth and twelfth centuries and to separate the norm from the exception. It proposes compositional discriminants to distinguish regional production groups, and provides insights into the organisation of the glass industry and commerce during the early Islamic period. The interdisciplinary approach leads to a holistic understanding of the development of Islamic glass; assemblages from the early Islamic period in Mesopotamia, Central Asia, Egypt, Greater Syria and Iberia are evaluated, and placed in the larger geopolitical context. In doing so, this book fills a gap in the present literature and advances a large-scale approach to the history of Islamic glass.

Ebook available in Open Access.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Preface: GlassRoutes and the systems of change

Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

List of Tables

Introduction

Chapter 1

Islamic glassmaking in Egypt contingent on local administration 27

• Primary glass workshops in Egypt – the archaeological evidence 28

• Roman and late antique glass groups of Egyptian origin 32

Roman antimony-decoloured glass 32

High iron, manganese and titanium (HIMT) glass 36

HIMT2 & Foy 3.2 (série 3.2) 38

Glass group Foy 2.1 (série 2.1) 40

Magby – a high Mg Byzantine glass type 42

Compositions and working properties over time 45

• The beginnings of Islamic glass production 47

Natron type Egypt 1A-C & Egypt 2 49

Natron type Egypt 1Ax – glass mosaics from the Great Mosque in Damascus 56

• The earliest plant ash glasses from Egypt 62

Plant ash glasses E1 – E4 63

Recycling and chronological evolution 66

Tin-oxide opacified glass weights 68

• Trace element discriminants of Egyptian glass 71

• Egyptian glass and its market 72

10 Table of Contents

Chapter 2

Islamic glassmaking in Greater Syria (Bilâd al-Shâm): distribution patterns 77

• Glassmaking and glass-working in the Bilâd al-Shâm –

the archaeological evidence 78

• Roman and late antique glass groups of Levantine origin 80

Roman manganese-decoloured and naturally coloured glass 80

The glass from fourth-century Jalame 83

Late antique Apollonia glass – Levantine I 84

• The beginnings of Islamic glass production 88

Early Islamic natron glass from Bet Eli‘ezer – Levantine II 88

The early Islamic mosaic tradition in Greater Syria 93

An interlude – the gold in gold leaf tesserae 97

Colours and opacifiers of the mosaic tesserae 99

• The last hurrah of natron-type glass in the Levant 105

• The earliest plant ash glasses from the Bilâd al-Shâm 108

Raqqa group 1 & Raqqa group 4 108

Glass from the primary production site of Tyre 113

Glass from the Serçe Limani shipwreck and the secondary workshop at Banias 115

• Ruptures and shifts in the production of glass in the Levant 119

• Distribution patterns and the glass market 121

Chapter 3

Glass production in Mesopotamia: preservation of plant ash recipes 125

• Sasanian glassmaking tradition – Veh Ardašīr et al. 126

• The transition to Islamic glassmaking in Mesopotamia 135

Mesopotamian group Raqqa 4 135

Two early Islamic glass groups from Mesopotamia: Samarra 1 and Samarra 2 138

Colourless glass from Nishapur 140

Millefiori tiles from Samarra and the ‘missing link’ 144

Message in a bottle 150

The port city of Siraf – a trading hub 155

• Glass from Iran and Central Asia – multiple origins of the glass

at Nishapur and Merv 157

• Mesopotamian versus Central Asian glass productions 163

Table of Contents 11

Chapter 4

“From Polis to Madina” and the flux of glass in Spain 173

• Late Roman and Visigothic glass from Hispania 176

The glass from Recópolis – exception to the rule or genuine trend? 177

• The first local production of glass in Islamic al-Andalus 183

The ‘invention’ of glassmaking – the case of Šaqunda 183

The glass workshop in Pechina (Almería) 189

The glass from Madīnat al-Zahrā’ – the Brilliant City 194

Domestic assemblages in Córdoba and the advent of Iberian plant ash glass 203

• Mosaics from Madīnat al-Zahrā’ and the Great Mosque of Córdoba 207

• The glass supply in eighth- to tenth-century al-Andalus 217

• Glass and the processes of Islamisation 221

• Western expansion: Sicily and the Maghreb 222

Byzantine, Islamic and Swabian Sicily 222

Islamic glass in the Maghreb 226

Emancipation of western Islamic glassmaking 226

Chapter 5

In conclusion – geographical and chronological dimensions 229

References 237

Preface: GlassRoutes and the systems of change

Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

List of Tables

Introduction

Chapter 1

Islamic glassmaking in Egypt contingent on local administration

• Primary glass workshops in Egypt – the archaeological evidence

• Roman and late antique glass groups of Egyptian origin
Roman antimony-decoloured glass High iron, manganese and titanium (HIMT) glass HIMT2 & Foy 3.2 (série 3.2) Glass group Foy 2.1 (série 2.1) Magby – a high Mg Byzantine glass type Compositions and working properties over time

• The beginnings of Islamic glass production

Natron type Egypt 1A-C & Egypt 2

Natron type Egypt 1Ax – glass mosaics from the Great Mosque in Damascus

• The earliest plant ash glasses from Egypt

Plant ash glasses E1 – E4

Recycling and chronological evolution

Tin-oxide opacified glass weights

• Trace element discriminants of Egyptian glass

• Egyptian glass and its market

Chapter 2

Islamic glassmaking in Greater Syria (Bilâd al-Shâm): distribution patterns

• Glassmaking and glass-working in the Bilâd al-Shâm –

the archaeological evidence

• Roman and late antique glass groups of Levantine origin

Roman manganese-decoloured and naturally coloured glass

The glass from fourth-century Jalame

Late antique Apollonia glass – Levantine I

• The beginnings of Islamic glass production

Early Islamic natron glass from Bet Eli‘ezer – Levantine II

The early Islamic mosaic tradition in Greater Syria

An interlude – the gold in gold leaf tesserae

Colours and opacifiers of the mosaic tesserae

• The last hurrah of natron-type glass in the Levant

• The earliest plant ash glasses from the Bilâd al-Shâm

Raqqa group 1 & Raqqa group 4

Glass from the primary production site of Tyre

Glass from the Serçe Limani shipwreck and the secondary workshop at Banias

• Ruptures and shifts in the production of glass in the Levant

• Distribution patterns and the glass market

Chapter 3

Glass production in Mesopotamia: preservation of plant ash recipes

• Sasanian glassmaking tradition – Veh Ardašīr et al.

• The transition to Islamic glassmaking in Mesopotamia

Mesopotamian group Raqqa 4

Two early Islamic glass groups from Mesopotamia: Samarra 1 and Samarra 2

Colourless glass from Nishapur

Millefiori tiles from Samarra and the ‘missing link’

Message in a bottle

The port city of Siraf – a trading hub

• Glass from Iran and Central Asia – multiple origins of the glass

at Nishapur and Merv

• Mesopotamian versus Central Asian glass productions

Chapter 4

“From Polis to Madina” and the flux of glass in Spain

• Late Roman and Visigothic glass from Hispania

The glass from Recópolis – exception to the rule or genuine trend?

• The first local production of glass in Islamic al-Andalus

The ‘invention’ of glassmaking – the case of Šaqunda

The glass workshop in Pechina (Almería)

The glass from Madīnat al-Zahrā’ – the Brilliant City

Domestic assemblages in Córdoba and the advent of Iberian plant ash glass

• Mosaics from Madīnat al-Zahrā’ and the Great Mosque of Córdoba

• The glass supply in eighth- to tenth-century al-Andalus

• Glass and the processes of Islamisation

• Western expansion: Sicily and the Maghreb

Byzantine, Islamic and Swabian Sicily

Islamic glass in the Maghreb

Emancipation of western Islamic glassmaking

Chapter 5

In conclusion – geographical and chronological dimensions

References

Chapter 1

Islamic glassmaking in Egypt contingent on local administration

• Primary glass workshops in Egypt – the archaeological evidence

• Roman and late antique glass groups of Egyptian origin

Roman antimony-decoloured glass
High iron, manganese and titanium (HIMT) glass
HIMT2 & Foy 3.2 (série 3.2)
Glass group Foy 2.1 (série 2.1)
Magby – a high Mg Byzantine glass type
Compositions and working properties over time

• The beginnings of Islamic glass production

Natron type Egypt 1A-C & Egypt 2Natron type Egypt 1Ax – glass mosaics from the Great Mosque in Damascus

• The earliest plant ash glasses from Egypt

Plant ash glasses E1 – E4
Recycling and chronological evolution
Tin-oxide opacified glass weights

• Trace element discriminants of Egyptian glass

• Egyptian glass and its market

Chapter 2

Islamic glassmaking in Greater Syria (Bilâd al-Shâm): distribution patterns

• Glassmaking and glass-working in the Bilâd al-Shâm –

the archaeological evidence

• Roman and late antique glass groups of Levantine origin

Roman manganese-decoloured and naturally coloured glass
The glass from fourth-century Jalame
Late antique Apollonia glass – Levantine I

• The beginnings of Islamic glass production

Early Islamic natron glass from Bet Eli‘ezer – Levantine II
The early Islamic mosaic tradition in Greater Syria
An interlude – the gold in gold leaf tesserae
Colours and opacifiers of the mosaic tesserae

• The last hurrah of natron-type glass in the Levant

• The earliest plant ash glasses from the Bilâd al-Shâm

Raqqa group 1 & Raqqa group 4
Glass from the primary production site of Tyre
Glass from the Serçe Limani shipwreck and the secondary workshop at Banias

• Ruptures and shifts in the production of glass in the Levant

• Distribution patterns and the glass market

Chapter 3

Glass production in Mesopotamia: preservation of plant ash recipes

• Sasanian glassmaking tradition – Veh Ardašīr et al.

• The transition to Islamic glassmaking in Mesopotamia

Mesopotamian group Raqqa 4
Two early Islamic glass groups from Mesopotamia: Samarra 1 and Samarra 2
Colourless glass from Nishapur
Millefiori tiles from Samarra and the ‘missing link’
Message in a bottle
The port city of Siraf – a trading hub

• Glass from Iran and Central Asia – multiple origins of the glass

at Nishapur and Merv

• Mesopotamian versus Central Asian glass productions

Chapter 4

“From Polis to Madina” and the flux of glass in Spain

• Late Roman and Visigothic glass from Hispania

The glass from Recópolis – exception to the rule or genuine trend?

• The first local production of glass in Islamic al-Andalus

The ‘invention’ of glassmaking – the case of Šaqunda
The glass workshop in Pechina (Almería)
The glass from Madīnat al-Zahrā’ – the Brilliant City
Domestic assemblages in Córdoba and the advent of Iberian plant ash glass

• Mosaics from Madīnat al-Zahrā’ and the Great Mosque of Córdoba

• The glass supply in eighth- to tenth-century al-Andalus

• Glass and the processes of Islamisation

• Western expansion: Sicily and the Maghreb

Byzantine, Islamic and Swabian Sicily
Islamic glass in the Maghreb
Emancipation of western Islamic glassmaking

Chapter 5

In conclusion – geographical and chronological dimensions

References

Nadine Schibille

Nadine Schibille is a senior researcher in art history and archaeometry in the Institut de recherche sur les archéomatériaux (IRAMAT-CEB) at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).