Rectangular stucco and glass window divided horizontally into two rectangular fields of unequal size. The larger field, which takes up about 4/5 of the area, shows floral ornamentation vertically divided by curved blue and yellow laces. The spaces between the intertwined laces are filled with red flowers of different sizes and kinds, including roses. The motif is worked out in relief against a perforated background that lies approximately 6mm below the surface of the stucco panel. At the top, the ornament is surrounded by a round arch; the spandrels are decorated with three-petalled flowers.

The smaller field, below the flower ornament, is composed of two adjacent eight-pointed stars; the colourful stars have a green flower at their centre and are each inscribed in a circle. The spandrels between the circles and the rectangular field are filled with triangular and diamond-shaped pieces of glass of various colours.

Coarse-grained gypsum plaster; colourless glass; coloured glass (several shades of green, two shades of blue, three shades of yellow, including orange and amber, three shades of red, including a brownish red, a purplish red, and pink)

The window is well preserved and was thoroughly restored in 2003. During this intervention, earlier repairs were largely removed. Among other things, the 2–3mm thick coat of paint on the front of the stucco grille was removed with a scalpel. The restoration measures included cleaning the 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, around 80% of the original pieces of glass were preserved. Missing pieces were replaced with new ones, which were attached with cellulose nitrate.

Apart from the depiction of a closely related window made by the British architect James William Wild (1814–1892) during his stay in Cairo in the years 1844–1847 (IG_445), this type of floral ornamentation is not represented in other museum collections studied within the project. The window has a nearly identical counterpart in IG_352, which is also part of the Benaki collection. Apart from small differences in the disposition of the coloured pieces of glass, both windows show the same design and have very similar dimensions. It seems therefore likely that they were made in the same workshop. A third window in the Benaki collection (IG_351) shows a variation of this floral ornamentation, with laces and flowers.

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, its relatively good state of preservation suggests that it was made later. If the window had been installed in a building in the 16th or 17th century and been exposed to the weather for two or three centuries, we would have expected it to be more heavily weathered before its restoration in 2003. Another criterion in favour of a later date of manufacture is the fact that pieces of glass show the characteristics of cylinder-blown sheet glass, a technique that was uncommon in the Islamic world at that time 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.