A Rare Fatimid carved rock crystal molar flask, Egypt, 10th/11th century

of rectangular section, the top of octagonal form with faceted sides and central narrow boring at the mouth, relief-cut decoration, standing on four short pointed feet

In good overall condition, some dirt to the underside and at the bottom of the narrow boring, two of the legs slightly worn at the tips, very minor abrasions, as viewed.
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This rare flask is a superb example among a small group of rock crystal vessels of a similar size and form, whose original function was most likely as containers for perfume and scented oils. However, many found their way into European church treasuries and were adaped as reliquaries for the bones of Christian saints.  Those of this particular form are known as molar flasks because their feet are somewhat reminiscient of the roots of a molar tooth.

Church inventories and inscriptions on a few pieces allow us to build up a picture of their date of production and subsequent dispersal.  Produced at the height of Fatimid power in the late-tenth and early-eleventh century, they were then scattered during the breakdown of law and order in Cairo between 1061 and 1069 and the looting of the royal treasury by Turkish insurgents (Pinder Wilson, R., in Robinson, B (Ed.), Islamic Art in the Keir Collection, London, 1988, p.289).

The extent of this vast treasure is documented by the historian al-Maqrizi, who mentions rock crystal in abundance, and the Persian traveller Nasir-i Khusrau who describes seeing rock crystal being worked in the lamp market in Cairo on visits to the city between 1046 and 1050 (ibid., p.189).  The existence of a royal workshop is confirmed by the fabulous rock crystal ewers in the Treasury of San Marco, Venice, and the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, as well as the crescent-shaped piece in the Germanisches Museum, Nuremberg, all of which have caliphal inscriptions (ibid., p.290; Contadini 1998, figs. 15-17, pp.18-19).  Many of the smaller items, such as the present lot, must have been used by ladies of the harem for cosmetic purposes.