Later, both cut and colorless glasses seem to have gone out of fashion. With the exception of objects for everyday use, much of the Islamic glass produced between the 11th and 13th centuries was colored. Some of these objects featured relief decoration that was formed by inflating the molten glass in decorated molds, while others were made of deep purple, blue, or green glass decorated with white trails that were tooled into festoons or featherlike patterns.

In the 13th century, decorators in the region of Syria achieved the first extensive application of enamels on glass. For the next two centuries, Syrian and Egyptian craftsmen produced large quantities of glass in many shapes and sizes with brilliant polychrome ornament (Fig. 5 [55.1.36]). These objects included functional vessels such as hanging lamps to illuminate the interiors of mosques, as well as drinking vessels and other useful items, plus spectacular display pieces.

The making of this glass required both artistic imagination and technical expertise. Gilding was applied by mixing gold dust with a liquid medium, painting this on the glass, and fixing it to the surface by heating the object in the furnace. Enameling was accomplished in a similar manner. Powdered glass was applied in suspension, then heated until the enamel fused with the surface of the glass.

When attempting to date these objects, the most important clues are the inscriptions on lamps and other objects. These inscriptions identify important patrons whose dates are known (Fig. 6 [69.1.2]). This tiny flask, which would have held perfume, bears the arms of Sultan Baybars of Egypt (r. 1260 - 1277). Scholars believe that most of the pieces with designs including human figures and animals were made in the 13th century. Objects with ornamentation featuring large inscriptions are thought to date from the 14th century.

In the later Middle Ages, Europeans prized Islamic luxury glasses because of their exotic appearance and technical sophistication, and sometimes because they were believed to be relics from the Holy Land. Fragments of Islamic glass, usually decorated with gilding and enameling, have been unearthed in archeological excavations all over Europe, and some unbroken objects are contained in cathedral treasuries. Excavations have also revealed that Islamic glass vessels were exported to China.

Although the peak of Islamic glassmaking ended in the 14th century, later craftsmen produced high-quality glassware in the empires of the Ottomans (Turkey, the Near East, and the Balkans), the Safavids (Iran), and the Mughals (India). The earliest of these works are known only from brief written reports and illustrations in manuscripts, but many later objects have been preserved. These pieces often have a distinct European influence. English glassmakers exported blanks to India, where they were decorated by cutting and gilding, and at least one 19th-century Turkish glassmaker is known to have been trained in Venice. One particularly elegant example of later Islamic glassmaking is a "swan’s neck" rosewater sprinkler from 18th- or 19th-century Iran (Fig. 7 [59.1.575]).

In the 19th century, glassmakers in Austria, Bohemia, and France began to create objects decorated in Islamic style. The Viennese firm of Lobmeyr and other companies produced gilded glassware for Egyptian and Middle Eastern markets, as well as pieces with "Moorish" and Turkish decoration for customers closer to home. One glassmaker, Philippe-Joseph Brocard of Paris, was so skillful in imitating older Islamic designs that even experts have difficulty distinguishing his products from the 14th-century works that inspired them (Fig. 8 [78.3.16]).