About the Artwork
When this bottle was made, glass vessels decorated with brightly colored enamels (powdered glass) and gold were treasured luxury items throughout the Mediterranean world and the Middle East. Made by specialist workshops in Egypt and Syria during the Mamluk period (1250 – 1517), they were widely exported to royal courts and for high-end trade.
The Arabic inscription encircling the body of this bottle indicates that it was made for the Rasulid sultan Dawud (reigned 1296 – 1321) of Yemen. Whether commissioned by the sultan or sent as a diplomatic gift, the vessel celebrates his rule. The inscription calls him “Lion of the World and Religion” (Hizabr al-Dunya wa’l-Din) and wishes him victory and glory. A second inscription, around the bottle’s neck, repeats “the learned” — an implicit reference to the sultan. The five-petaled rosette, the emblem of the Rasulid dynasty (1229 – 1454), is prominently featured between the two inscriptions.
Bottles like this one have been identified as wine decanters, but they may have contained a range of beverages, including sherbets and water as well as wine. During festive gatherings, a servant could have gripped the bottle from its base and its long neck while pouring drinks for guests.
Bottle Made for the Rasulid Sultan Dawud
between 1296 and 1321
(Artist) Islamic, Egyptian (Artist) Islamic, Syrian
Glass, gold, enamel
Overall: 14 3/4 × 7 3/4 inches (37.5 × 19.7 cm)
Glass
Islamic Art
City of Detroit Purchase
30.416
Public Domain
Markings
Inscribed, on four panels on body: One of the things made for the Sultan al-Malik al Mu-ayyad Hizabr al-Dunya wa 'l-Din Dawud ibn Yusuf ibn Umar, may his victory and sultanate be glorious (translated) Inscribed, on neck and body (translated): the learned or the wise [repeated in large blue letters]
Provenance
until 1893, Frederic Spitzer [1815-1890] (Paris, France).by 1899, Dr. Max Strauss (Vienna, Austria).
by 1930, (Wells Gallery [C. Edward Wells] New York, New York, USA);
1930-present, purchased by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Schmaranz, Gustav., ALTORIENTALISCHE GLASGEFASSE, Vienna, 1898, p. 18.
Schmaranz, Gustav., Old oriental gilt and enamelled glass vessels extant in public museums and private collections, Vienna, 1899, pp. 25-27.
Mehmet Aga-Oglu, Catalogue of a Loan Exhibition of Mohammedan Decorative Arts, Detroit Institute of Arts, October 21 to November 23, 1930, no.109, pp.38-39.
DIA BULLETIN, vol XII, no 3, Dec 1930.
DIA HANDBOOK, 1971, p 64.
Atil, Esin, RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM: ART OF THE MAMLUKS, exh. cat.,Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., May 14, 1981 - May 29, 1983, p. 131 discussed and illustrated.
Atil, "As Body Guard or Ruler Mamluks Made a Golden Age", SMITHSONIAN, July 1981, p. 113, illustrated.
M.H. DeYoung Memorial Museum, EXHIBITION OF ISLAMIC ART, (San Francisco, 1937) cat. 173.
A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts, ed. Julia P. Henshaw (Detroit 1995), p. 124 (ill.)
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Credit Line for Reproduction
possibly Islamic, Syrian; possibly Islamic, Egyptian, Bottle Made for the Rasulid Sultan Dawud, between 1296 and 1321, glass, gold, enamel. Detroit Institute of Arts, City of Detroit Purchase, 30.416.
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