Glass

The Khalili Collection contains more than 300 examples of pre-Islamic and Islamic glass objects that encapsulate the history of ancient glass. Grouping the material according to the major techniques of manufacture and decoration, and then chronologically, this catalogue illustrates the development of glass-making technology from its Byzantine and Sasanian beginnings. It also follows it into the 19th and 20th centuries when European makers found new inspiration in Islamic forms. Mould-formed glass and vessels with applied decoration, especially enamelling, are well represented, allowing valuable comparison, but the masterpieces of the collection are to be found above all in the group of objects with carved decoration, notably a cameo-cut bowl of the 10th century.