File:Beaker (48467462697).jpg

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, São Sebastião da Pedreira, Lisbon, Portugal

Material: Enamelled and gilded glass Period: Egypt or Syria, Mamluk period, the first half of the 14th century Collection: Calouste Gulbenkian Museum Inv.: 2378 Provenance: Georges Eumorfopoulos collection (bought in China c. 1918); Acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian, through M. Giraud-Badin sale, Sotheby’s, London, June 5-6th, 1940.

ABOUT THE TIME PERIOD OF THE ACQUISITION

In 1942, in the middle of the Second World War, Calouste Gulbenkian left Paris and settled in Lisbon, making the last acquisitions for his collection of ‘Islamic art’ in 1949. Between his last purchases is an enamelled glass beaker covered in exotic birds, which has been interpreted as a visualisation of the Sufi poem The Conference of the Birds.

The war changed the political and social organisation of the world, resulting in a global redistribution of power. The United States gained influence in the West, while the Soviet Union dominated Eastern Europe. In the Middle East and North Africa, independence movements arose, causing social upheaval. All of these developments had deep and prolonged repercussions which we still feel today.

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ABOUT THE WORK

In terms of shape, this is the largest known cylindrical piece with a flaring top made in enamelled and gilded glass from the Mamluk era (1250-1517).

Its size suggests it was either used for ceremonial purposes or was a valuable gift, while the unusual decoration depicts mythical and real birds.

The upper part shows a phoenix with coloured plumage and a vulture, both flying above a hoopoe, a bird that is traditionally associated to royalty in the Middle East, as well as a pair of geese, a parrot and a hawk attacking a duck.

The lower part has images of a magpie and a ground fowl. This group of birds is depicted all around the vase in a completely free style, the different positioning clearly suggesting a hierarchy that is dominated by the phoenix.

The enamelled and gilded glass technique that made Syrian craftsmen famous is considered to be one of Islam’s main contributions to the art of glass.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

April 1975

Esin Atil – Art of the Arab World, exhibition catalogue, Washington, D.C. (Smithsonian Institution), 1975, p. 122

Pinder-Wilson 1976

Ralph Pinder-Wilson – “Elegance and Ornament in Islamic Glass”, in: Apollo, vol. CIII, no. 170, 1976, p. 215

London 1976

The Arts of Islam, exhibition catalogue, The Arts Council of Great Britain, London (Hayward Gallery), 1976, p. 145, no. 142

Goffen 1995

Rona Goffen (ed.) – Museums discovered: The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 1995, p. 180-181, colour pl.

Queiroz Ribeiro e Hallett 1999

Maria Queiroz Ribeiro, e Jessica Hallett – Os Vidros da Dinastia Mameluca no Museu Calouste Gulbenkian / Mamluk Glass in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 1999, p. 60-70, 106-107, no. 1, colour pls.

Lisbon 2001

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum – Album, Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 2001, p. 35, no. 18, colour pl.

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