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The Buckley Ewer

Ewer
950-1050 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This splendid cut-glass piece is known as the Buckley Ewer, after a former owner. Its shape and decoration are based on silver ewers, including the decorative thumb-rest in the form of two small birds. However, it is also clearly related to prestigious contemporary ewers (Museum no. 7904-1862) carved from rock crystal for the Fatimid rulers of Egypt (969-1171).

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Buckley Ewer (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Glass, cut
Brief description
Ewer (the 'Buckley Ewer'), clear, colourless relief-cut glass, Iraq or Iran, 950-1050.
Physical description
Ewer, cut glass, with decoration in high relief.
Dimensions
  • Height: 23.8cm
  • Maximum width: 9.7cm
Styles
Gallery label
(Jameel Gallery)
Jameel Gallery

Cut-Glass Ewer
Iraq or Iran
950-1050

The shape and decoration of this ewer are based on examples made in silver. The ewer is also clearly related to the rock-crystal ewer shown opposite, which is thought to be Egyptian. Indeed, the thumb-rest on the glass ewer shows how the missing thumb-rest on the rock-crystal ewer may have looked.

Glass, blown and wheel-cut

Museum no. C.126-1936
Given by Mrs Wilfred Buckley in memory of her husband.
Credit line
Wilfred Buckley Collection
Object history
This ewer is a close imitation of rock-crystal ewers, possibly created in the same workshops in Cairo. (SC 1992)

Known as the 'Buckley Ewer' after a previous owner, Wilfrid Buckley.
Production
This piece seems a close imitation of rock-crystal ewers, possibly cut in the same workshops in Cairo. SC 1992
Summary
This splendid cut-glass piece is known as the Buckley Ewer, after a former owner. Its shape and decoration are based on silver ewers, including the decorative thumb-rest in the form of two small birds. However, it is also clearly related to prestigious contemporary ewers (Museum no. 7904-1862) carved from rock crystal for the Fatimid rulers of Egypt (969-1171).
Bibliographic reference
Tim Stanley ed., with Mariam Rosser-Owen and Stephen Vernoit, Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Middle East, London, V&A Publications, 2004, pp. 94-95, plate 107
Other number
8218 - Glass gallery number
Collection
Accession number
C.126-1936

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Record createdDecember 13, 1997
Record URL
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