One of a series of photo-based posts documenting a trip that my mum and I recently took to Iran. My excitement at being in that beautiful country meant that I sometimes missed the details in our guides talks, so apologies for any incorrect info or mislabeling of photos! Also, I took my old Pentax K100d with me but was unable to get more memory for it so had to use a low-quality format- I hope that doesn’t stop you from seeing the beauty that I saw everywhere…
After flying into Tehran, we spent our first day wandering the streets surrounding our hotel, which encompassed the wonderful Abgineh Museum of glassware and ceramics.
Approaching the Abgineh glass and ceramics museum, Tehran
With little idea of what to expect of Iranian museums, we were astonished by the beautiful curation and display of the collection… the lower rooms housed objects, both ceremonial and everyday, from up to 3000BC to the Mongol invasion in the 11th century AD.
Glass talismans, 4-6th century BC, northern Iran
Glass stamps
Moulded glass and gold necklace, 4th century BC, Tehran area
- Glass flask, 2-4th century AD, eastern Iran
Rhyton or ceremonial vessel, 1st millenium BC, Markil
Many objects showed an overwhelming sophistication of both functional and aesthetic design…
Beak-spouted tea-pot, 2nd century BC, Tehran area
Cut-glass drinking vessel, 3rd century AD, Gilan, northwest Iran
Cut-glass drinking vessel, 3rd century AD, Gilan, northwest Iran
as well as great finesse in decoration.
Detail of glass vase, Uzbekistan
I particularly loved this four-sided glass display unit with its many little “rooms”! It housed hundreds of small glass objects from a variety of styles and periods.
Glassware display
Glassware display
And I was surprised at how familiar the shapes and motifs were…
Chevron glass bowl, possibly 3rd century AD
Stippled glass bowl, possibly 3rd century AD
Ridged glass bowl, possibly 3rd century AD
How sweet are these little perfume bottles?! They are only about 2cm tall!
Tiny perfume oil bottles
Upstairs were diverse pieces from the 11th century onwards- some were beautifully simple and functional…
Blown glass bottle
others were whimsical and fantastical….
Child’s earthenware whistle
Detail of ceramic vessel decorated with fascinating human/ bird figures
Cobalt star tile depicting animals, 13th century AD, Kashan
Bowl with birds and figure
or dramatic, filled with symbols and meaning…
Bowl with red edging pattern
Bowl with arabesque decoration, Islamic period, Neyshabour
Earthenware bowl inscribed with blessings in Mandaic, 11-13th century AD, Shooshtar
Bowl with Islamic calligraphy, 13th century AD, Neyshabour
Plate with calligraphy, 13th century AD, Neyshabour
Bowl with Islamic calligraphy, 13th century AD, Neyshabour
But all were so incredibly beautiful that we knew this trip into Iran was going to be more than we could have anticipated! Back tomorrow with Iran’s food… or landscape… There’s so much to show you that I can’t decide what to post next!
Thank you for sharing your photos, Jules! Truly beautiful work.
Beautiful….love the glass.
Thanks for stoping by.. I’m so glad you enjoyed seeing all that amazing glassware!
Curious to know if you have other photos from the glass museum – and if you have any photos that resemble the pieces on my research site: http://www.saddleflasks.com. Everyone loves the older glass – which is stunning – but I can find very little information about the later glass? Curious to know if you have any more photos of the utilitarian wares from the 16th-19th centuries?