MWW Artwork of the Day (5/30/26) Mamluk Sultanate (Egypt, 1250-1517) Enameled and Gilded Bottle (late 13th c.) Glass, greenish, enameled & gilded, 45.5 cm. high, 27.9 cm. diameter The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Rogers Fund)
The size and delicate decoration of this bottle are remarkable; few such large or painterly examples of enameled glass are known. The polychrome phoenix on the neck soars above the central scene of mounted warriors wielding maces, swords, and bows. The warriors might well be participants in a horsemanship exercise, outfitted as combatants from the rival Ilkhanid and Mamluk states. Apart from its astonishing technological accomplishment, evidenced by its size and variety of colors, the most extraordinary aspect of the bottle is its figural decoration.



















