bowl

Many early Islamic wheel-cut objects were decorated in a style that was also used to carve stucco, stone, and wood at Samarra in the ninth century. This style, which used to be called “beveled,” is now known as “slant-cut.” The surface was cut and ground so that, in cross section, it looks like a check mark. This afforded the ornament a raised appearance. Fragments of slant-cut glass, dated to the ninth or 10th century, have been found at Samarra. This bowl displays a combination of relief and slant cutting. The two principal motifs - a standing bird with a small head and an elongated body, and a tree of life - appear four times. Presumably the bowl was fashioned from a glass disk that was sagged over a mold, then cut, ground, and polished.