Why is there no Islamic architecture with glass in windows before the 18th century?

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KAC Creswell in "Muslim Architecture in Egypt" 1 describes and has photo and drawing of a still in situ colored glass window attributed to 1140's in Mosque of Al-Azhar in Cairo.

Five bankers boxes of notes, at least 1000 photos taken by me and others are difficult to post!!

  1. K. A. C. Creswell, Early Muslim Architecture I (Oxford, 1932), 42 ff.Creswell42 ffIEarly Muslim Architecture1932 Google Scholar

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Some of the earliest (8th and 9th- century) buildings in the Islamic world had colored glass windows and there is no subsequent period during which colored glass windows were not used in architecture (Christian as well as Islamic,, secular and religious) somewhere in those areas of the world in which Islam was a major influence. Because the formal study of Islamic architecture by historians in the "west" is a fairly new discipline and because window-fillings are, at best, a secondary feature of any architecture, the documentation of the recordable history of colored glass windows in Islamic architecture is a subject in its infancy.

With a Masters Degree in Art History, and a specialization in Islamic art history and a thesis on representations of colored glass windows in Persian miniature paintings, I have read innumerable scholarly articles, often archeological excavation reports, and traveled in Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Uzbekistan recording in situ examples of such windows. ,There are few articles about this interesting tradition written for the general public, so "evidence" consists of articles like F B Flood article on windows in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem in a "Muqarnas" publication.

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The Blue Mosque may have had stained glass windows since 1617.

Nonetheless, consider the tradition of ventilated buildings in Islamic architecture. Buildings for hot, dry climates often have thick walls and small windows. This insulates while maintaining airflow, and may be the only option for earthen construction. In such places it's so bright outside that a small fraction of that light suffices inside. If for some reason you want to block the window, stick something into it. No glass is needed for this arrangement.

In Islamic architecture, latticework screens called jali represent an artistic approach to the principle of ventilated buildings. They provide shade, brilliant highlights, and interesting shadows, just like stained glass. This traditional element may help explain a relative dearth of stained glass windows in monumental buildings.

Jaali at Sarkhej Roza

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