A Comparative Study of Glass-Working Motifs of Seljuks in Iran and Fatimids in Egypt during 12th-13th Centuries (A.D)

Glass-working was one of the dominant arts in the Islamic period. In the time of Iranian Seljuks and, contemporaneous with them, Egyptian Fatimids, this art was so innovative that such an era is considered as the glorious period in the history of Islamic glass-working in the two countries. In addition to contemporaneity of Seljuks and Fatimids, economic and cultural relations between the two regions can be considered as the reason behind various kinds of similarities observable in the glass-working of the two regions. Thus, the identification of such similarities is the main aim of this study. The main questions of this study are as following: Which characteristics can be used as the main factors for identifying the glass-works in the two regions? Can the motifs applied on glass-works be considered as identifying factors? The paper investigates the similarities as well as differences between Iran and Egypt in terms of glass-works’ motifs in order to achieve the factors which can be used for distinguishing the glass-works of the two regions. Finding the answer, some of the glass-works of Seljuks and Fatimids during 12th-13th centuries (A.D) are selected and studied. Finally, the results of this study show that, before this time, motifs were not used so much on the glass-works. The influence of Islamic spirit on the art of these two regions led to the creation of calligraphic motifs like prayer for the owner of the vessel, name of the artist and the person who ordered it on the glass-work. Similarities observed in terms of forms and decorations indicate some kinds of technological interactions between Iranian and Egyptian glass-workers during the period under study. Yet, there are obvious differences in some cases which are due to different characteristics of the two regions.