Made for the International Colonial Exhibition held in Amsterdam in 1883.
Glazed windows of this type, both plain and decorative, are found in traditional buildings in Turkey and the Arab lands. They are usually set at a high level, over unglazed windows that are sometimes covered by shutters and screens.
This window was made for display at the International Colonial Exhibition held in Amsterdam in 1883. It consists of small pieces of glass of different colours arranged in patterns within a plaster framework. It provides a late example of Islamic geometric ornament, in which balance among the individual design components is no longer maintained. One element, the starbursts based on a sixteen-pointed star, is visually dominant.
Physical description
This Tunisian Islamic stained glass window is carved from a rectangular slab of stucco and backed with red, green, yellow, orange and blue glass. The design is based around an elaborate geometric star pattern. The perforations are carved with a downward slant to direct incoming back-light to the floor. The design is topped with a carved lobed arch.
Place of Origin: Tunisia
Date: 1883
Artist/maker: Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques: Carved stucco and stained glass
Dimensions: Height: 95.5 cm, Width: 61 cm, Depth: 5 cm
Object history note: Made for the International Colonial Exhibition held in Amsterdam in 1883.
Descriptive line: Plaster window with coloured glass in a multiple-starburst pattern, Tunisia, 1883.
Subjects depicted: Stars
