Bottle
Unknown Artist
probably 18th–19th century
Medium
Glass; mold blown, tooled on the pontil
Dimensions
H. 16 7/16 in. (41.8 cm) W. 4 13/16 in. (12.2 cm) Wt. 8.88 oz. (251.743 g)
Classification
Glass
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
Accession Number
91.1.1576
Art Historical Context
This elegant glass bottle, hailing from the Islamic world and likely crafted in the 18th or 19th century, the refined artistry of traditional glassmaking. Standing at an impressive 16 716 inches (41.8 cm) tall and weighing just 8.88 oz (251.7 g), its slender form suggests it was designed for practical yet decorative use—perhaps to hold perfumes, oils, or rosewater, common in Ottoman or Persian households. The bottle was created using mold-blowing, a technique where molten glass is blown into a patterned mold to achieve textured surfaces, followed by tooling on the pontil—a iron rod used to sh...