This stucco and glass window corresponds iconographically and technically to one of the standard types of qamariyya widespread in Egypt during the Ottoman period. Windows with the flowers and vase motif have survived in several of the collections studied (see for instance IG_7, IG_166, IG_178, IG_255, IG_356). The motif recurs in Islamic decorative arts and appears in numerous media, such as ceramics, wood panelling, wall paintings, textiles, and stucco and glass windows, and over a long period of time, in both sacred and profane contexts. The motif aroused the interest of Western artists and architects in the 19th century, as is attested by a significant number of book illustrations, sketches, and paintings (see for instance IG_43, IG_118, IG_149, IG_153, IG_437, IG_443, IG_461), as well as by the replicas of such windows installed in Arab-style interiors across Europe (IG_48, IG_49, IG_57–IG_59, IG_64, IG_91, IG_431).
The window discussed here shows a traditional composition arranged along a central axis. However, the naturalistic, yet imprecise rendering of the flower species in the vase, as well as the unusual background decor, distinguish this example from Islamic stucco and glass windows with the same motif. As with the stylistically and technically related stucco and glass window MAK, 3606 (IG_360), we assume that the window was designed by a Western architect during the second half of the 19th century, when interest in Islamic ornament and stucco and glass windows was at its peak. However, the place of manufacture remains unclear. The production of the window is only partially in line with the traditional technology: While the glass pieces are fixed on the back in the traditional qamariyya style, the latticework seems to have been made using the casting technique and not cut out of a solid plaster plate. Despite these discrepancies, it cannot be ruled out that the window was produced in an Egyptian workshop according to the architect’s design. The sheet glass may have been imported from Europe, as mentioned by the Hungarian architect Max Herz (Herz, 1902, p. 53).
Owing to the lack of documentation, the original purpose of the window – be it for use in an Arab-style interior or for sale on the art market – and the date at which the window entered a museum collection are unknown. So far it can only be proven that the window formed part of the collection of the Orientalisches Museum in Vienna, founded in 1874 (from 1886 the k.k. Österreichisches Handelsmuseum). In 1907, it was transferred to the k.k. Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (today the MAK – Museum für angewandte Kunst). The transfer was done on the initiative of Arthur von Scala (1845–1909), who left the k.k. Österreichisches Handelsmuseum in 1897 to become the new director of the k.k. Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (Wieninger, 2012).
Like the stylistically and technically related stucco and glass window MAK, 3606 (IG_360), this window served as a direct model for the stucco and glass window (central panel 2) installed in the mashrabiyya of the Arab Room of the k.k. Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (MAK, H 3358-4, IG_264). The mashrabiyya and the stucco and glass windows were designed by the Czech architects František Schmoranz (1845–1892) and Johann Machytka (1844–1887) between 1881 and 1883. The date of manufacture of the window discussed here can therefore be further narrowed down, as it must have been created before 1883.
