Glass Medallion with Lute Player and Inscription - AMD.73, Origin: Central Asia, Circa: 1100 AD to 1200 AD, Dimensions: 3.4" (8.6cm) wide, Collection: Islamic, Style: Impressed, Medium: Glass, Condition: Restored, Glass medallions of this type were first discovered during excavations at the Ghaznavid palace in Old Termez in the 1930s. This site in Uzbekistan, near the border of Afghanistan, yielded about twenty examples with various subjects and colours. Since they were discovered with alabaster gratings it is assumed that they were used as window decorations. Since the 1930s about seventy complete and fragmentary examples have come to light from across Central Asia. The majority are in Kuwait in the Al-Sabah Collection and the Tariq Rajab Museum. The Islamic collection in Berlin also has a noteworthy sample. None of the medallions exceed c. 10 cm in diameter and they are nearly all slightly irregular in shape. The importance of this type of object lies partly in the presence of inscriptions, in this case in the 'naskh' script which mention rulers and amirs and help to date their production to the twelfth century.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East