From an iconographic point of view, this stucco and glass window corresponds to one of the standard types of qamariyya widespread in Egypt during the Ottoman period. Similar windows can be found in several of the collections studied (see for instance IG_7, IG_166, IG_178, IG_255, IG_356). The representation of flowers in a vase is a widespread motif in Islamic arts. It can be found in numerous other media, such as ceramics, wood panelling, wall paintings, and textiles, over a long period of time, and in both sacred and profane contexts. Depending on the quality of the design, the type of flower cannot always be identified. Among the most sophisticated examples of stucco and glass windows with the vase motif are those in the apartments of the Crown Prince at the Topkapı Sarayı (early 17th century CE, date of the windows uncertain) and those in the Sultan’s Lodge (Hünkâr Kasrı) of the Yeni Cami (1661–1663 CE, date of the windows uncertain), both in Istanbul.
Stucco and glass windows with flowers in a vase also aroused the interest of Western artists and architects, 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_54–IG_59, IG_64; IG_91, IG_431).
The French naval officer and novelist Pierre Loti (1850–1923), who had this stucco and glass window installed in the southern gallery of the so-called mosque built between 1895 and 1897 in his family’s house at Rochefort (France), was familiar with such windows from his extensive travels. In 1894, he embarked on a journey through Egypt, Palestine, and Turkey and subsequently published his observations and experiences in the trilogy Le désert (1894), Jérusalem (1895), and La Galilée (1896), as well as in the novel La mosquée verte (1896). In Jérusalem (Loti, 1895, p. 72), Loti relates his visit to the Dome of the Rock and pays particular attention to the stucco and glass windows and their luminous effects. He compares them to precious stones, praises the effect of the stucco grille, and describes the angling of their perforations. According to his accounts, Loti visited also traditional residences. He was even received in two reception halls (qāʾa) in Damascus, which are described in La Galilée and later inspired him in relation to his ‘mosque’ at Rochefort (Loti, 1896, pp. 144, 146). In La mosquée verte, he again comments on these windows, this time those in the tomb of Mehmed I in Bursa. After mentioning other furnishings there, such as the ceramic tiles and the carpets, the stucco and glass windows are described as follows: “Des petits vitraux, haut perchés, tout près du dôme, et travaillés autant que des pièces de bijouterie, laissant descendre une lumière changeante, comme filtrée au travers de pierres précieuses.” (Loti, 1896, p. 233).
Owing to the formal, compositional, and technical characteristics of the window, Thierry Liot’s assumption that it too may have belonged to the late 18th-century Damascene house from which the ceiling, mihrab, and woodwork of Loti’s ‘mosque’ at Rochefort are thought to have originated (Liot, 1999, p. 130; see also Giraud-Heraud, 1996, pp. 64–65) has to be rejected. In fact, it is much more likely that this window, together with IG_427–IG_430, is a replica made in France. The extremely flat surface of the stucco grill is very different from that of windows manufactured in Egypt, including IG_426. While the stucco grilles of traditional Islamic windows such as IG_426 are usually carved out of a solid stucco panel, it seems that the grille of this Rochefort window was cast.
As IG_426, this window was installed on the eastern wall of the galleries flanking the central space of Loti’s ‘mosque’ on both sides, in this case the southern gallery. Like Loti’s other windows, this specimen was protected from the weather on the outward-facing rear side by means of a 4mm-thick pane of glass (missing in the lower part of the window) at an unknown date, but most probably in connection with the window’s installation at Rochefort. The colourless glass of the protective pane has a slightly greenish tint and shows elongated bubbles. It therefore can be assumed that it is cylinder-blown.
