Definition
Iranian glass includes Sasanian cut glass, early Islamic mould-blown and cut vessels, and later blown bottles and rosewater sprinklers, with a small studio glassblowing tradition today.
History
Glass vessels have been made on the Iranian plateau since antiquity. Long-necked Qajar and Safavid-style blown bottles are frequently attributed to Shiraz.
Dates and attributions here summarise common scholarly positions and are under editorial review; they are not definitive.
Technique
Glass is gathered on a blowpipe, inflated and worked by hand or into moulds; decoration may be cut, applied as trails or pressed from moulds.
Collecting and identification
Weathering (iridescence), bubbles, pontil marks and moulded patterns help identification; excavated glass is fragile and often restored.
This guidance is educational only and is not an authentication or valuation service.
Reference samples
The reference samples on this page are documented objects in public collections, shown with their holding institution's attribution and licence. They illustrate the craft and are not for sale.
Gallery
Images are representative examples, not evidence for the sample marketplace records. Their sources and permission status are listed in the photography credits.
Marketplace
No objects of this craft are currently listed.
Reference samples in collections
Documented objects from museums, archives and auction records, shown for study. Not for sale; attributions are the holding institution's, not CraftPersia's.
Sources & references
- Book: Wulff, H. E. The Traditional Crafts of Persia. MIT Press, 1966.
- Museum catalogue: Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access collection records for Iranian objects (accessed 2026-09-24).
Where origins, dates or symbolism are contested, this entry states the competing readings rather than choosing between them. Editorial analysis is not presented as documented fact.