The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of November 30, 2023

Bottle

c. 1900

Europe

Glass with enameled and gilded decoration

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1944.488

Location

116 Islamic

Description

The bold inscription on the body of the bottle translates: “Glory to our lord, the sultan, the king, the victorious, the protector of the world and the religion, Muhammad.” The sultan referred to here is the Mamluk ruler Muhammad ibn Qala’un (1285–1341), who is also referenced on the nearby mosque lamp.

This bottle, as with the mosque lamp CMA 1981.10, is representative of reproductions of Mamluk glass that were prominent in the late 1800s in Europe during a period of resurgence of interest in Islamic art. At this time, collectors and artists revived the techniques of enameling and gilding that are hallmarks of Mamluk glass.

Inscriptions

Inscription

The inscription translates: "Glory to our lord, the sultan, the king, the victorious, the protector of the world and the religion, Muhammed."

Inscription Remark

The inscription refers to Mamluk ruler Muhammad ibn Qala’un (1285–1341).

Provenance
?-1944
(Hagop Kevorkian [1872–1962], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1944-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Islamic Art: Selected Examples from the Loan Exhibition of Islamic Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944. Reproduced: p. 38 archive.org
"Part II. Annual Report Issue for the Year 1944." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 32, no. 6 (1945): 103-30. Mentioned: p. 107 www.jstor.org
“Front Matter.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 32, no. 10, 1945. Reproduced: cover www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 714 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 210 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 210 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 266 archive.org
Exhibition history

Islamic Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 3, 1944-February 2, 1945).

For Modern America from the Ancient Near East. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-March 21, 1948).

Art of the Islamic World (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 21, 2021-May 31, 2022).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1944.488