Blown and Cut Glass Cup

This cup is of an unusually large size and shape. Of a domed, cylindrical form with slightly flaring mouth and flattened foot, its sides are engraved with staggered rows of circular depressions. The large wheel-cut circles form a honeycomb lattice pattern, a decorative feature found on numerous Sasanian and post-Sasanian glass vessels. Made during the Abbasid period some centuries later, this technique of glass decoration shows a continuation of styles made in Iraq and Iran. Similar excavated examples have been attributed to the site of Nishapur, in northeastern Iran.