Islamik of Kendi Glass

At the time of the Arab conquest in the seventh century A.D.,glassmaking had flourished in Egypt and western Asia for more than two milliennia. Futhermore,glassmakers in those regions went about their business despite the momentous political,social and religious changes taking palce around. In the field of Islamic art, glass is a carft that often rose to excellence but has been largely overlooked by art historians. Islamic glass  production from the seventh through the fourteenth century was also greatly innovative and witnessed glorious phases—such as those of superb relief-cut glass and spectacular glided and enameled objects. 

Figure 1: coloured glass kendi in Muzium Asia UM

Thousands of anonymous glassmakers, from Cairo to Delhi, proudly transmitted their knowledge from one generation to the next,experimenting with the colours,shapes,techniques and surface decoration of this extraodinarily versatile material. The oldest pieces found are in Egypt and Babylon they certainly are ‘fit for a sultan’ . two molds from the medieval Islamic world are the only ones to survive,but the basic technology of nonindustrial glassmaking and tools employed have not changed.

Figure 2: coloured glass kendi in Muzium Asia UM

Date on 3^rd millennium B.C, There was the molding techique which involve a core of sand (mold) being held by a metal rod which was repeatedly dipped into molten glass,rolled and smoothed, until a thick layer of glass adhered to the core in the manner of glaze,the core was removed after the glass had cooled.

By the first century A.D., new technique of making glass. This was the blowing technique and was of such importance that is has lasted to the present day. The glass is blown,when it is red hot and soft, into bubble which is then formed into a shape by using the blower’s pipe

The blowpipe is an iron or steel tube, usually live feet long for blowing a parison or gather of molten glass. Molds are used to impress decorative pattern on the prison. Dip molds have the typical form of a conical beaker, and the pontil, a solid metal rod that is applied to the base of a vessel to hold it after it is cut off from blowpipe. The pontil leaves an irregular ring-shaped mark on the base known as a ‘pontil mark’. Wooden blocks,jacks, to shape the mouth of an open vessel and shears to trim excess hot glass during production. A marver use for a smooth flat stone or metal surface over which softened glass is rolled is also an essential tool of the glassmaker. In this collection, almost all of the glassware came from Iran or Persia area. The shape likely a bottle.

Archaeologys of glass Islamik had found a lot of shape, method, features and dated of glass Islamik. For more information : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS-Gf21NJtg&feature=youtu.be