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Perfume Sprinkler (Qumqum)

11th–mid-13th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 454
This long-necked glass bottle with a ring-shaped body would have been used for disseminating rosewater or another aromatic substance mixed with water. Rosewater was used for cooking and as a perfume to be sprinkled on guests at the end of a meal. The production of such sprinklers in Syria from the late eleventh to the mid-thirteenth century reflects another aspect of courtly manners in which attractiveness in all its forms was prized.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Perfume Sprinkler (Qumqum)
  • Date: 11th–mid-13th century
  • Geography: Attributed to probably Syria
  • Medium: Greenish glass; blown, applied blown foot, applied decoration
  • Dimensions: H. 10 1/4 in. (26 cm)
    W. 5 1/4 in. (13.4 cm)
    D. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)
    Wt. 5.5 oz. (155.9 g)
  • Classification: Glass
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Richard S. Perkins Gift, 1977
  • Object Number: 1977.164
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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