Orientalist Glass Art: Masterpieces from the Museum of J&L Lobmeyr, Vienna

The exhibition featured nearly 90 exquisite items of glass art created by Austriaâ€™s foremost glass manufacturers J&L Lobmeyr.

The exhibition, entitled â€˜Orientalist Glass Art â€“ Masterpieces from the Museum of J&L Lobmeyr, Viennaâ€™, features nearly 90 items of glass art made over some 200 years by Austriaâ€™s foremost glass manufacturers J&L Lobmeyr, established in 1823.

The artefacts all come from the Lobmeyr familyâ€™s private museum and have never been shown since the 19th century. Most are unique pieces inspired by the Islamic art traditions of Mamluk Egypt and Syria, Nasirid Spain, Ottoman Turkey and Mughal India.

Famous for its innovative manufacturing, glass refining technologies and its sophisticated designs. Lobmeyr has created a diverse stylistic range of wares and lighting fixtures since the half of the 19th century. The first section of the exhibition provides a brief chronological overview reaching from Josef Lobmeyr's early designs in the 1840s to those representing the firm's groundbreaking collaborations with renown artists in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

The exhibition culminates in the presentation of a chandelier J&L Lobmeyr designed for the holy mosque in Madina al Munawwara.

Highlights from the Exhibition

Ewer No. 7887 from the Arabian Series. Designed by Johann Machytka & Franz Schmoranz, after 1877. Lead-free, mould-blown crystal glass with gilding and coloured enamel painting. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Items from the First Lobmeyr Drinking Set for the Imperial Court in Vienna. Designed by Josef Lobmeyr around 1835. Mouth-blown crystal, hand-cut, hand-polished, copper-wheel engraved Imperial crest. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Glass from the 'Schwarzbronzit Variations A' Series. Designed by Joseph Hoffman, 1911/1912. Mould-blown glass, painted and etched decoration in the bronzite technique. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Candy Dish. Designed by Oswald Haerdtl, 1924. Mould-blown lead-free crystal glass. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

A War Tumblers produced for Sale in the Ottoman Empire. Poem and Calligraphy by Ahmed Saadeddin, dated 1330-1335 H (1912-17 CE). Mouth-blown glass, painted and acid-etched in the bronzite technique, enameled and gilt. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Large Double-Handed Vase, No. 3893-97 from the Arabian Series. Designed by Gustav Schmoranz, 1896/7. Lead free, mould-blown crystal glass with gilding and coloured enamel painting. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Large Plate No. 3192 from the Persian Series. Designed by Lobmeyr Atelier (form) and Georg Rehlender (decoration), around 1878. Mould-blown clear glass with gilding and thick applied enamel painting. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Large Plate No. 3897 from the Spanish-Moorish Series. Designed by Johann Machytka & Franz Schmoranz, 1878. Lead-free, mould-blown crystal glass with gilding, brown lustre and blue, white and red enamel painting. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Vase No. 3886-78 from the Spanish-Moorish Series. Designed by Franz Schmoranz, around 1878. Yellowish opaque, mould-blown glass with gilding and blue enamel painting Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Ewer and Bottle No. 4770-83 from the Indian Series. Designed by Moritz Knab, 1889. Transparent dark-greenish, mould-blown glass, with deeply cut designs filled in cold technique with aluminium and gold leaf. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Mamluk Style Mosque lamp. Made to drawings by Gustav Schmoranz after a 14th-century Mamluk original, 1898. Dark blue, mould-blown glass with coloured enamel decoration. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Double Handled Vase No. 6597-84 from the Turksih Series. Designed by the Lobmeyr Atelier, 1884. Transparent deep-purple, mould-blown and engraved glass, with gilding and enamel painting. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts

Chandelier No. 41/201 for the Prophet's Mosque in Madina al Munawwarah. Designed by Peter Rath for J& L Lobmeyr, 1986/7. Gilt brass, cut crystal and decal-painted and matted crystal vases and bowls, the electric system designed for PLI8W tubular lamps. Lobmeyr Family Museum / Photo Â© Islamic Arts