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Mosaic Fragment

836-900 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown (makers)
Place of origin
Mediterranean basin (made)

Thirty-six (36) tesserae moulded in the shape of cubes, natron-based (sodium carbonate or soda ash) glass, tinted manganese black, cobalt blue and yellow, probably from lead antimonate, green and turquoise. Some are decorated with gold leaf. Overtime the shapes have become irregular. Stored in their original paper box, inscribed with Herzfeld's I-N number '954' in red pigment.


Object details

Categories
Mosaic
Glass
Object type
Mosaic fragment
Materials and techniques
Glass, moulded
Brief description
Thirty-six (36) cube-shaped glass tesserae for wall-mosaic work; Eastern Mediterranean Coast, 9th century. Found in Samarra. Stored in their original paper box, inscribed with Herzfeld's I-N number '954' in red pigment.
Physical description
Thirty-six (36) tesserae moulded in the shape of cubes, natron-based (sodium carbonate or soda ash) glass, tinted manganese black, cobalt blue and yellow, probably from lead antimonate, green and turquoise. Some are decorated with gold leaf. Overtime the shapes have become irregular. Stored in their original paper box, inscribed with Herzfeld's I-N number '954' in red pigment.
Dimensions
  • Length: 0.6-1.1cm
  • Width: 0.6-1.1cm
  • Depth: 0.6-1.1cm
Style
Abbasid
Marks and inscriptions
  • Transliteration
Credit line
Given by H.M. Government

The research, cataloguing and digitisation of the V&A's Samarra collection has been made possible by a pilot project grant from the British Institute for the Study of Iraq (2013).
Bibliographic references
  • Nadine Schibille, Jens Kröger and Mariam Rosser-Owen, 'Ninth-Century Glasses from Samarra (Iraq) and Near Eastern Glass Production', poster presented at the International Symposium of Archaeometry, Leuven, May 2012
  • Nadine Schibille, 'V&A list' PDF, dated 28 June 2010
  • Nadine Schibillle, Final Report for British Academy, Small Research Grants - SG round 1, 2009
  • Matthew D. Saba, 'Impermanent Monument, Lasting Impression: The Abbasid Dar Al-Khilafa Palace of Samarra', Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Chicago, August 2014.
  • Lamm, Carl Johan. Das Glas von Samarra. Berlin: D. Reimer, 1928.
  • Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archive, Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Series 4: Photographic Files 1903-1947: FSA A.6 07.19, p.28
Other number
I-N 954 - Herzfeld's red inventory number on object
Collection
Middle East Section
Accession number
A.59-1922

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O449027/mosaic-fragment-unknown/
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