The designs on the Yavuz Sultan Selim Gondola and Vase were inspired by a rock ctystal dagger which was presented by the palace jewellers to the Ottoman Sultan Yavuz Sultan Selim as a gift in 1514 on the occasion of his victory at the Battle of Caldiran, waged against Ismail, the Shah of Iran.

The original currently on exhibit at the Topkapi Palace Museum, the dagger is a new interpretation of the same motifs on a gondola and vase and the relief patterns on the hand-made glass forms have also been produced by hand and plated in 24-carat gold.