This item has been added to the Database within the Explore Islamic Art Collections project. Information is available in: English, Arabic.

Name of Object:

Ewer

Location:

Doha, Qatar

Holding Museum:

Museum of Islamic Art

About Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

Date of Object:

Hegira 4th-5th century / AD 10th-11th century

Museum Inventory Number:

GL.152.2003

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Glass; Blown Glass, Wheel-cut, Applying

Dimensions:

Height: 22.7 cm, diameter: 12.3 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Buyid

Provenance:

Iran

Description:

This exquisite perfume bottle is designed as a gem-set fish, entirely decorated with uncut rubies, emeralds, turquoise and pearls. The tip of the small bottle opens with a screw cap. It was most probably meant to contain perfume or a powder for cosmetic use. Jewelled objects from the Mughal period, such as this bottle, were commissioned for the courtly elite and would probably have been worn attached to a belt or around the neck.

How Object was obtained:

Christie's London, Important Indian Jewellery, 8 October 1997, Sale 5858, Lot 343 to Qatar Museums

Selected bibliography:

Al Khemir, Sabiha, From Cordoba To Samarqand, Masterpieces from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Milan: Musée du Louvre Editions, 2006.

Walton, Michelle, Imperfect Perfection, Early Islamic Glass, Doha: Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, 2012.

Citation of this web page:

Nicoletta Fazio "Ewer" in Explore Islamic Art Collections. Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;qt;Mus21;8;en

Prepared by: Nicoletta Fazio

MWNF Working Number: QT 08