Islamic Glass - German/German
With the spread of Islam under Muhammad, a new, independent glass art developed on the Arabian Peninsula. This epoch from 600 to 1200 AD is called "Islamic glass". It was oriented towards the Roman glass art that had existed until then. In Europe, the medieval forest glassworks emerged at the same time, while Venice developed into the leading glass manufacturing centre in Europe.
The collection of Islamic glass in the Wertheim Glass Museum comprises 18 exhibits. The oldest piece is a hanging lamp from the eastern Mediterranean region. It was made in the 6th to 8th century. Light or mosque lamps play a major role in Islam and are therefore most strongly represented in the collection of Islamic glass in the glass museum. This can be traced back to verse 35 of the 24th Quranic verse: "God is the light of the heavens and the earth. His light is like a niche in which there is a lamp; the lamp is in a glass, and the glass is like a flickering star ... light upon light!"
The drinking glass from Nishapur in Iran shows a unique detail: a stem with another base is attached to the bottom of the glass, which dates from the 8th to 10th century. Drinking glasses with stems first appeared in Italy from the 13th century onwards. The Wertheim Glass Museum thus possesses one of the first stemware glasses.
Also interesting are the eight Egyptian glass weights to slide onto a beam balance.
The influence of Islamic art on German culture became particularly evident in Art Nouveau, when ornamentation was given an increasingly important role. The exhibition of Islamic art in Munich in 1910 was legendary.
Islamic Glass - English
With the spread of Islam under Mohammed, a new distinct style of glass developed on the Arabian Peninsula. This era from 600 to 1200 AD is known as the "Islamic glass," period. It was based on existing Roman Glass Art and coincided with the establishment of mediaeval forest glass foundries in Europe, and Venice developing into Europe's leading glass production centre.
There are 18 exhibits in the collection of Islamic glass in Wertheim Museum of Glass. The oldest piece is a hanging lamp from the east Mediterranean area. It was made between the 6th and eighth century. Lamps or mosque lamps play a large role in the Islamic faith and are therefore strongly represented in our Islamic glass collection. Their importance can be traced back to verse 35 of the 24th Quranic Surah: Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light!"
The drinking glass from Nishapur in Iran displays a unique detail: on the bottom of this glass, which dates from the eighth to the10th century there is a stem with a wider base. Drinking glasses with a stem first appeared in Italy from the 13th century onwards so Wertheim Museum of Glass has one of the very first examples of glass stemware.
The eight Egyptian glass weights that were placed on a balance beam and scales are also interesting.
The influence of Islamic art on the German culture became very obvious in Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau, when decoration was apportioned a more dominant role. The 1910 exhibition of Islamic art in Munich was legendary.