Early Islamic Aubergine Glass Bottle - G.0336, Origin: Jericho, Palestine, Circa: 600 AD to 800 AD, Dimensions: 3.1" (7.9cm) high x 2.3" (5.8cm) wide, Catalogue: V1, Collection: Islamic, Style: Blown/Applied Decoration, Medium: Glass, Early Islamic glass is often indistinguishable from late Classical/Byzantine and Sassanian models. The advent of Islam and the creation of a vast political empire did not have an immediate impact on the practices of glass-making workshops that had existed for centuries, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean coastal regions. By the seventh century most of the techniques used to work glass by hand had been perfected. The major breakthrough occurred in the first century BC with the invention of glass- blowing. Rather than casting vessels in molds which was an expensive and time-consuming process, the blow-pipe increased the speed and efficiency of production. However, during the early centuries of Islam, glass-makers used this ancient technology in new ways to produce distinctively �Islamic� wares. They excelled in the application of decoration to blown wares and this small globular bottle is a perfect example of this trend.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East