Overview
Islamic glass and its craftsmanship in the Medieval period are known almost exclusively from Middle Eastern literature. The study of the structures of the workshop and the very rich glass assemblage from Sabra al-Mansuriya (Kairouan), the Fatimid capital founded in 947/948 and destroyed in 1057, proves that Ifriqiya followed the technological evolutions of glass craftsmanship. An examination of the furnaces and the various artefacts discovered highlights the double vocation of a palatial factory: to produce glass and glazed ceramics. From this particular workshop, installed in the wing of a palace, we found everyday glassware as well as more luxurious types, some with very specific forms, others reproducing models known throughout the Islamic world. These productions are local and imported – distinguished through morphological and chemical analyzes – and form the basis of a first typology of glass used in Ifriqiya from the 10th to 11th century. Architectural glass, partly made on site, is also abundant. The crown-glass of different colours, used whole or in small fragments, adorned the openwork panel walls with various carvings. The windows and their glass offered a rich polychrome and a complex decorative syntax, reflecting significant technical mastery and the desire to display economic and political power.
Full Product Details
Author: Danièle Foy (Emeritus Research Director, CNRS, Centre Camille Jullian (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, CCJ, Aix-en-Provence, France)) ,
Ian Freestone (Professor of Archaeological Materials and Technologies, Institute of Archaeology, University College London) ,
Faouzi Mahfoudh (Directeur général, Institut National du Patrimoine, Tunis)
Publisher: Archaeopress
Imprint: Archaeopress
Weight: 1.090kg
ISBN: 9781789696615
ISBN 10: 1789696615
Pages: 300
Publication Date: 02 July 2020
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Language: French
Reviews
'As we will have understood, this volume offers new solid foundations for the study of Islamic glass in its globality, both by the nature of the artifacts brought to light in a tight chronological context that by the richness of parallels and comparisons provided. We impatiently await the end of the story on the Mashreq side with the publication of furniture in Fustat glass.' [translated] – Marie-Dominique Nenna (2024): Bulletin critique des Annales islamologiques 38
Author Information
Danièle Foy is Emeritus Research Director at CNRS, Centre Camille Jullian (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, CCJ, Aix-en-Provence, France). Her work concerns crafts, trade and consumption of glass in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the pre-industrial period in the Mediterranean area.
