High-quality glass was one of the most significant developments of the Islamic Middle East. Islamic artists in the region were technical successors to the ancient glass tradition of Greece and Rome. Other regions desired Middle Eastern glass, and vessels were exported to Central Asia, China, India, and Southeast Asia. Islamic glass vessels have been found in Chinese tombs and Buddhist burials from the Sui-Tang period onwards. Islamic glass vessels were used as reliquaries in the Famen Temple crypt and the Belitung cargo probably carried glass as a commodity from the Gulf to China. Blue-coloured glass was highly prized. Examples have been found in courtly burials and temple dedications, as seen for example in the Famen Temple crypt.
