Cup
Unknown Artist
10th–11th century
Medium
Glass; free blown, tooled, and relief cut
Dimensions
H. 2 3/8 in. (6.0 cm) Diam. of base: 3 in. (7.6 cm) Diam. of rim: 2 3/4 in. (7.0 cm)
Classification
Glass
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Rogers Fund and Margaret Mushekian Gift, 1975
Accession Number
1975.442
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate glass cup, crafted by an unknown artist in the th–11th century, exemplifies the refined artistry of Islamic glassmaking a golden age of technical innovation. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Islamic Department, it measures just 2⅜ inches tall with a sturdy 3-inch base and 2¾-inch rim, making it a perfect everyday vessel—perhaps for sipping aromatic herbal infusions or precious rosewater in a bustling medieval household. The cup's medium reveals masterful techniques: free-blown to form its graceful shape from molten glass, tooled for precise contours, and relief-cut to ...