Syrian - Beaker - Walters 4717 - View O

This unique glass vessel reflects religious, historical, and cultural connections between Islam and Christianity. The work dates from the Crusader period (1097-1291), when Islamic imagery, including inscriptions in Arabic, as here, was often combined with Christian themes. It includes compositions in which figures resembling saints alternate with two-storied, domed structures that may represent monastic communities. A smaller vessel in the Walters collection (Walters 47.18), perhaps made to pair with this beaker, depicts a figure riding a grey donkey -- possibly Christ entering Jerusalem.