Rectangular stucco and glass window showing geometric ornamentation composed of a yellow eight-pointed star that encloses an eight-pointed green flower in its centre. Red, arcuate elements are placed between the points of the star. They are in turn separated by white drops. The motif is enclosed in a dotted circular frame. White circles, pink drop-shaped forms as well as small blue triangles fill the area between the circular inner frame and the surrounding rectangular frame of the stucco panel.

Coarse-grained gypsum plaster; colourless glass (with a greenish tint); coloured glass (two shades of green, two shades of blue, two shades of yellow, two shades of purple); red flashed glass. Some of the coloured pieces of glass are streaky.

The window is well preserved and was thoroughly restored in 2003. During this intervention, the remains of earlier repairs were largely removed. The restoration measures included cleaning the dirty and weathered surface of the stucco lattice (laser cleaning, density: 1.5 J/cm2 at 1064nm), bonding cracks with acrylic resin, and filling lacunae in the stucco lattice with acrylic filler. The repairs were retouched with pigmented acrylic emulsion. In addition, fragile areas were strengthened with gauze and acrylic resin. The original wooden frame was cleaned with solvent and reinforced by adding an aluminium frame.

At the time of restoration, only around 15% of the original pieces of glass were preserved. Missing pieces were replaced with new ones, which were attached with cellulose nitrate.

This stucco and glass window is a standard type of qamariyya widespread in Egypt during the Ottoman period. Windows showing comparable designs are held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (IG_186) and the Medelhavsmuseet (Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities) in Stockholm (IG_166). This latter example, however, shows an eight-petalled flower in its centre, instead of an eight-pointed star. Windows of this type are also illustrated in Gustave le Bon’s La civilisation des Arabes of 1884 (IG_192) and depicted in several sketches and paintings (see for instance IG_104, IG_118, IG_444).

From a technical point of view, it can be assumed that the window was made in an Egyptian workshop. Although the rear of the window was not accessible during our examination, it can be concluded from the restoration report of 2004 that the window was made according to the traditional technique used in the manufacture of qamariyyāt in North Africa to this day (see Technique).

According to the museum records, the window dates to the 16th or 17th century. However, there are some indications suggesting that the window was produced in the 19th century. On the one hand, the circles, drop-shaped forms and triangles filling the area between the circular inner frame and the rectangular outer frame of the stucco panel reflect a typical design of the late Ottoman period. On the other hand, the window was in a relatively good state of preservation before the restoration in 2003, despite the poor weather resistance of the stucco lattice. The pieces of glass show the characteristics of cylinder-blown sheet glass, a technique that was uncommon in the Islamic world and more commonly used in Europe. Interestingly, the Hungarian architect Max Herz (1856–1819) states in 1902 that sheet glass was imported to Egypt from Europe from the 19th century, because local sheet-glass production had come to a standstill (Herz, 1902, p. 53).

The Cairo-based, Cypriot art and antique dealer Phokion Tanos (1898–1972) donated this window – along with 12 other qamariyyāt (11049–11059, 20969, 20960, see IG_336–359) – to the Benaki Museum in Athens, probably in the 1940s.

In 2003, four replicas of this window were made. They are now on display in Room III of the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art, next to the window discussed here.