LASS OF THE SAR

some of the more famous sp

ed by one Marguerite Mallet, early in the fourteenth century, along with other property, for the endowment of that number of chantry priests. The case of cuir

ted by Harun-ar-Rashid to the great Emperor. M. Schefer many years ago made this cup the starting-point of a special memoir, in which he collected a mass

served as the theme of more than one ballad, none, however, of any great antiquity.[117] Like the Douai cup, it is preserved in a leathern ca

straps forming geometrical patterns. There are no figures of men or animals, and the colouring is for the most part confine

). Here there is no ornament apart from some fine arabesques of gold. This cup has long been associated with St. Hedwig, but i

led group, in the decoration of which t

n, white, and yellow horses; above is a cufic inscription in gold on a blue ground (Plate XXV.). On the other beaker, probably the earlier of the two, we see a group of brilliantly clad turbaned figures seated by a flowing stream-the water is na?

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C ENAMEL

METAL MOUNTING OF

ration-an al fresco wine-party with musicians-calls to mind one of the groups of figures on the Würzburg flask. Some

Gothic mounting of the fourteenth century. We see a prince seated on his throne, with attendants on either side. Th

up in the neighbourhood of Aleppo. The glass is much decayed, in this forming an exception to the other goblets o

coration. There is a fragment of glass similarly decorated at South Kensington, which came, I think, from Achmin. We fin

of the thirteenth century (Plate I.). The glass, somewhat thick and slightly greenish in hue, with a few drawn bubbles, in no way differs from that of the beakers already described.[120] So of the shape and of the quality and colours of the enamel. The slight 'kick,' however, at the base is normal: that is to say, there is no aperture (se

special type of goblet. We have here, however, a group f

drical goblets with projecting collars do not present any special point for remark. There is some reason for regarding the quaint little flasks, with narrow swelling necks, as an early type. There are two of this class at South Ke

This earth is reputed to have come from Bethlehem, and to be stained with the blood of the Holy Innocents. The main design of musicians, seated beneath a conventional tree beside a stream (represented by a blue meander), calls to mind the decoration of one of the Dresden

se on the coasts of the Mediterranean. The blood-stained earth that it once contained is gone, but the seal of attestation remains-strong evidence that the bottle was purchased at Bethleh

catalogue it was described as a specimen of Venetian glass! The enamels are brilliant and well preserved-polo-players, mounted on horses of various

nd a distinctly Chinese motive:-in addition to the well-known ph?nix may be seen a curious development of the cloud pattern, in the shape of four many-coloured bars. There is a fine example of these long-necked bottles at South Kensingt

essentially 'table ware.' In Persian manuscripts-in the illustrations to Ha

our collections. The medallions, skilfully filled with groups of lions attacking deer and wi

l is decorated with a gold arabesque combined with the thick translucent blue enamel and the red lines so characteristic of Saracenic glass. A label, however, still proclaims this tazza to be 'Style Arabo-Venitien, XVme siècle.' On the other hand, no less an authority than Labarte (Histoire des Arts Industriels, iv. p. 546), it is true as long ago as 1864, found in this tazza an

ve decoration calls to mind that on some of the Cairene mosque lamps. This bowl is known to have come from Damietta, and it may perhaps supply an argument for those

is perhaps the bowl with a perfect lid but defective foot in the British Museum. The decoration in this case is of great interest. Th

ue L

ere the lamps can be traced back to well-known buildings in Cairo, or again when they bear the names of Mem

of Kalaoun), whose long reign extended (with some interruptions) from 1293 to 1341. On these lamps the polychrome decoration is already fully developed: along with them must be placed those bearing the name of several of this sultan's emirs. To the reign of the Sultan Baybars II. (1309-1310)[121] probably belongs the beautiful lamp of deep cobalt blue glass that Mr. Pierpont Morgan obtained from

ssan (1347-61) has provided numerous examples to our collections. In these we already find less delicacy and detail in the decoration, but the broad

amarkand whole regiments of skilled Syrian artisans, and among these the glass-workers are definitely mentioned. Others of these men may have fled to Egypt; in any case the art lingered on in that country for another hundred years. Acco

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LAMP FR

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. In the latter country after this time, they appear in a measure to have fallen back upon the older and more primitive methods, handed down, perhaps, from the days o

tioned one or two mosque lamps w

effect is obtained by a wash of green translucent enamel over the whole of the inner surface. The outside is covered with an effective but somewhat summary

e body and neck, except a plain band at the top, is worked into shallow, wavy ribs. It bears no enamel, but on the surface there are traces of the gilding that formerly co

ith pearly patina, the graceful, vase-like form, and, above all, the sparingly applied but quite exceptional decoration, in which the human figure finds a place, distinguish this lamp from the ordinary Cair

e that this method of decoration may have been suggested to the Chinese potters by specimens of the Saracenic glass which, as we now know, found their way to China at an early date. The use of enamels of very similar constitution on metals had, however, been known in certain parts of Europe since the first century of our era if not earlier, and the cloisonné enamels of

Persian sources. His successor, the great Saladin, came of the Ayubi stock that had ruled in Mesopotamia. Both families brought with them the traditions of Sassanian art and a complete freedom from the religious scruples of the earlier Semitic rulers. A little later the great Monghol invasion of Genghis Khan, who founded a new dynasty in Persia, opened the way to other influences, this time from the Far East. During all this period, the civilisation of the Frankish West was fighting its way into Palestine and Northern Syria. It would be difficult to find a parallel case in history-a case,

s and writers-was ambassador at Constantinople. The document in question is a despatch addressed by him to the Venetian senate; on it he has drawn in outline two designs for lamps-one a somewhat depressed version of our old mosque type, the other what M. Yriarte calls a 'godet-lampe' of elongated form,-in fact, a version of our 'spear-butt' or cup-lamp suitable for fitting into a wooden or

or Damascan in style, of which we have a few rare examples in our museums; these, I t

ing of any medi?val Saracenic glass other than the enamelled ware of Syria and Egypt. The little bowl of amber-yellow glass in the British Museum, enamelled with the figure of an angel, was considered by Franks to be Persian ware of the fifteenth century (Plate XXVII. 1). With it we may compare the already mentioned sphere from a lamp-cha

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KING

N. FIFTEENTH OR

R ATTACHMENT TO CHAIN

AN. PROBABLY FI

fragments is by any means conclusive. In the rubbish-heaps of Fostat or Old Cairo, which, like those of Rhé, have yielded so many interesting potsherds that throw light on the early history of pottery, many pieces of glass have been found, among them some fragments of bracelets. These are of two types, in one case of the primitive Hebron character, in