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Dimensions: 11.5cm. diam. 6.2cm. high

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Notes: A rare and important cut glass bowl of exceptional colour and quality.

The technique of wheel cutting employed on this bowl recalls the spectacular cut glass ewer that sold in these rooms, 30 April 2004, lot 48. The comparison extends to the use of related motifs and hatched details. Other comparable material is published in Carboni & Whitehouse 2001, p. 190-1, no. 95, and Kröger 1995, pp.161-75. Both in terms of depth of cutting and quality of design, this piece surpasses all other published examples. It is a technical and artistic masterpiece and an object of rare beauty.

In his catalogue of glass finds from Nishapur, Jens Kröger attempted a classification of wheel-cut glass based on the variety of techniques. These he termed linear, intermediate or slant-cut style. It is the latter that has been employed here. Sometimes referred to as "bevelled" in recognition of its similarity to the bevelled style of Samarra, it uses an oblique cut achieved by positioning the wheel at an angle to the surface. It is the most elaborate and laborious, and therefore the most expensive and rarest of the techniques. The technical skill required to execute such a piece is matched here by the outstanding quality of the design.

In the past, pieces from this group have been attributed to Gurgan, though there is no clear evidence to support this attribution (see Carboni & Whitehouse 2001, p.190-1).