Nine flowers in a blue vase are arranged symetrically along a central axis. Despite the stylization of the flowers, carnations, lilies, and roses are easily recognizable. The vase is flanked on each side by two flower stems, springing from the bottom of the central field. An elaborate semicircular frame composed of four-petalled flowers backed with pieces of yellow glass surrounds the central motif. Six-petalled flowers within a six-pointed star are set in the spandrels. The main representation and the flower and star motif in the spandrels are set within a perforated background, which is slightly recessed.

The latticework is largely preserved in its original condition, but there are many losses (lacunae and superficial losses), as well as cracks in the ornamental border. Two large cracks run from the border through the middle of the motif. The cracks have been glued to ensure stability of the panel (see Hamadene/Vuillermoz, SNOA 136, p. 5). The surfaces of the latticework show dust deposits, but no signs of weathering.

The window was restored in 2018. Loose pieces of glass were reattached. Missing pieces were replaced with new glass; the new pieces are incised with the date ‘2018’. A pure white plaster has been used for fixing the glass on the back of the panel; remains of the old embedding layer remain in the unrestored areas (see Hamadene/Vuillermoz, SNOA 136, pp. 2–4).

This stucco and glass window corresponds iconographically and technically to one of the standard types of qamariyya widespread in Egypt during the Ottoman period. Similar windows have survived in several of the collections studied (see for instance IG_7, IG_166, IG_178, IG_356). The representation of flowers in a vase is a widespread motif in Islamic decorative arts. It can also be found in numerous other media, such as ceramics, wood panelling, wall paintings, and textiles, over a long period of time, and in both sacred and profane contexts. Depending on the quality of the design, the type of flower cannot always be identified. Among the most sophisticated examples of stucco and glass windows with the vase motif are those in the apartments of the Crown Prince at the Topkapı Serail (early 17th century, date of the windows uncertain) and those in the Sultan’s Lodge (hünkâr kasrı) of the Yeni Cami (1661–1663, date of the windows uncertain), both in Istanbul.

Stucco and glass windows with flowers in a vase also aroused the interest of Western artists and architects, as is attested by a significant number of book illustrations, sketches, and paintings (see for instance IG_43, IG_118, IG_149, IG_153, IG_437, IG_443, IG_461), as well as by the replicas of such windows installed in Arab-style interiors across Europe (IG_48, IG_49, IG_57–IG_59, IG_64, IG_91, IG_431).

The window discussed here stands out from other qamariyyāt of the same type, owing to its elaborate semicircular frame. It forms part of a group of four qamariyyāt acquired by the French industrialist and art collector Émile Étienne Guimet (1836–1918). All four windows became part of the collection of the Musée Guimet, founded in Lyon in 1879, and are today conserved at the Musée des Beaux-Arts (IG_254, G_255) and the Musée des Confluences (IG_256, IG-257) in Lyon. Whereas IG_254 and IG_257 show identical compositions of curlicues and flowers, this qamariyya as well as IG_256 (held at the Musée des Confluences) represent late versions of the flowers in a vase motif.

Unfortunately, there is no information on the place of acquisition, the date, or the provenance of this and the other three windows of the group. The state of preservation of the stucco grille of this window, in particular the lack of weathering, suggests that it has never been exposed to the outside environment. We therefore assume that it has never been part of a historic building in the Islamic world, but was produced specifically for the flourishing art market in the late 19th century and for use in the Arab-style interiors of Western collectors. Chemical analysis of five pieces of colourless glass from the two windows preserved at the Musée des Confluences (IG_256, IG-257) reveal that the glass was made from relatively pure raw materials (soda, lime, silica), corroborating production in the late 19th century.

Mentioned in:

• Salima et al 2019, pp. 73, 74.

• Giese/Keller/Wolf 2023.