Eastern Light

Francine Giese

doi:10.36950/manazir.2021.3.7

Abstract

Islamic colored glass windows (qamarīyāt) have long been disregarded by scholarship despite their popularity with nineteenth-century travelers. Their vibrant light and bright colors have sparked the enthusiasm of artists, architects, and collectors who depicted, recreated, and displayed this fragile art form. By focusing on the British architect James William Wild, the eccentric traveler and art collector Karl von Urach, and the iconic American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, this contribution will highlight the artistic and cultural significance of qamarīyāt as an expression of the intense colors of the East.

Highlights

In 1842, the British architect James William Wild, brother-in-law of Owen Jones (1809-1874), joined the Prussian expedition to Egypt and Nubia, led by the Egyptologist Carl Richard Lepsius
By presenting the first results of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) project “Luminosity of the East” (Vitrocentre Romont 2020-2024),2 this contribution will address the many facets of the Western fascination for qamarīyāt, while focusing on three key figures within nineteenth-century orientalism and decorative arts: the British architect James William Wild (1814-1892), who developed a predilection for traditional Cairene houses; the eccentric collector Karl von Urach (1865-1925), who bought original qamarīyāt in Cairo and reinstalled them in his neo-Mamluk exhibition halls; and the artist Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), who had experienced the intense colors of the East during his travels and contributed to the renewal of American stained glass
Email: francine.giese@vitrocentre.ch 2 The abovementioned SNSF project focuses on Islamic colored glass windows of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries within Western museum collections and at World’s Fairs, their popularity with artists, art dealers, and collectors during the colonial age, as well as their reception in Western art and architecture

Summary

Introduction

In 1842, the British architect James William Wild, brother-in-law of Owen Jones (1809-1874), joined the Prussian expedition to Egypt and Nubia, led by the Egyptologist Carl Richard Lepsius. By focusing on the British architect James William Wild, the eccentric traveler and art collector Karl von Urach, and the iconic American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, this contribution will highlight the artistic and cultural significance of qamarīyāt as an expression of the intense colors of the East.

Results

Conclusion