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Oriental Glass
The Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in the Netherlands possesses a rich collection reflecting the history of glassmaking in the Middle East.
Deciding it's time to focus on Oriental Glass an exhibition has been organized that features among its highlights several recent acquisitions at the museum. The history of glassmaking in the Middle East began around 2500 B.C., as the technique was discovered in Phoenicia which is now Lebanon.
With the spread of the Islamic faith the importance of Damascus emerged as the centre of the first caliphate. Glass began to be used in the decoration of buildings as well as in day-to-day wares.
Many of the techniques used in glass decoration were learned from the glassblowers of ancient Rome, including engraving, cutting and adding patterns in relief. By 1200 the Middle Eastern glassmakers explored the used of enamel in their creations painted onto the glass.
Around 1500 the Middle East imported much of its glass from Europe, looking to the Venetian masters of glass arts. Mosque lamp-holders were produced in the Italian city using a technique that the Venetians had actually learned from the Islamic glassblowers and employed in their studios. Much of the museum's collection was bequeathed from Pim Mulier, a leading Dutch collector of his day. Mulier worked with the Gemeentemuseum’s first director, H.E. van Gelder, in amassing his splendid private collection of glass that included pieces from the Islamic world.
Oriental Glass
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