(...) Τhe exhibition explores with special emphasis two glorious episodes in the history of Islamic glass-making the ninth and tenth-century production of cut and engraved glass and the thirteenth and fourteenth-century production of gilded and enameled objects. Building on the tradition of glass cutting in the Sasanian Empire, Islamic craftsmen began to make exquisitely delicate cut glass in the ninth century. Glassmakers produced blanks of various kinds, including colorless objects, which at their best had clarity of rock crystal, and colorless pieces with colored overlay, which were employed in making cameos; in the finishing shop, the blanks were cut, ground, and polished. The end products were some of the finest cut glass in the world, with bold motifs carved in relief and thin walls that made the objects almost as light as a feather. (...)

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