A Brief History of the Glassmaking, Wine, Rose-water and other related Industries of Persia between 1590-1950

Iran_Isfahan_Ali_Qapu_Music_Room_02

Much of what we know about Late Persian glass, wine-making and the other industries that used utilitarian glass containers in Persia between 1590 and today comes from the accounts of travellers who kept and later published records of their journeys. In 1974, Robert Charleston authored a paper on “Glass in Persia in the Safavid Period and Later.” Much of his evidence comes from the accounts of those travellers. I am curious to know whether Charleston’s search was usefully exhaustive in nature, or whether other content remains out there to be found. In an Internet age, perhaps it might be possible to plumb deeper into the records of foreign travellers to Persian lands?

In this section, over the course of the next several years, I will publish whatever content I can find that might shed light on the story of this glassware and how it was used. The content will be divided by century.