Mosque lamp
- Place of origin:
Egypt (probably, made)
Syria (possibly, made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
Gilded and enamelled glass
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
Islamic Middle East, room 42, case 14E
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This large glass lamp has a sharply waisted body with a flaring upper section and a globular lower section with a flattened base. It stands on a low foot and has six suspension rings for hanging. The decoration, executed in gilding and coloured enamels, is in three main registers. In the upper section, a bold inscription in blue enamel is divided into three sections by large roundels. The wording of the inscription, taken from the Holy Qur'an, reads, 'Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The likeness of His Light is as a wick-holder wherein is a light.' This is the beginning of the text known as the Light Verse (surah XXIV, verse 35), which was often placed on lighting implements. Within the three roundels there is a short declaration, 'Glory to our master the Sultan, the King'.
The middle register contains an elaborate and very fine pattern of interlace. The bands of the interlace have been left plain, while the surrounding ground has been filled in in red and blue enamels. This would have made the design glow when the lamp was lit. The main feature of the lower register, which fills the flattened base, is a repetition of the inscribed roundels that divide the inscription at the top.
The lamp is thought to have been made to hang in the mosque of the Mamluk sovereign Sultan Hasan, who ruled between 1347-1351 and 1354-1361.
Physical description
Lamp of clear glass decorated with red, white and blue enamels. Globular body with flared neck and a low folded foot. Six suspension rings are attached to the body. The enamelled decoration consists of four registers. The top register is composed of medallions and an inscription in blue enamel. The neck features smaller medallions of blue enamel against a sketchy red enamel floriated design. The body contains elaborate strapwork in red enamel against a blue enamel background. The bottom register features small floriated designs and blue enamel medallions.
Place of Origin
Egypt (probably, made)
Syria (possibly, made)
Date
ca. 1360 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Gilded and enamelled glass
Marks and inscriptions
God is the Light of the heavens and earth. His Light is like this: there is a wick-holder and in it a wick.
Dimensions
Height: 35.2 cm, Width: 30.5 cm maximum
Descriptive line
Lamp made for the mosque of Sultan Hasan in Cairo, Egypt or Syria, about 1360.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Tim Stanley ed., with Mariam Rosser-Owen and Stephen Vernoit, Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Middle East, London, V&A Publications, 2004; pp. 28, 49, plate 14
Exhibition History
Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Victoria and Albert Museum (The Millennium Galleries, Sheffield 14/01/2006-16/04/2006)
Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo 01/10/2005-04/12/2005)
Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas 03/04/2005-04/09/2005)
Palace and Mosque: Islamic Art from the Victoria and Albert Museum (National Gallery of Art, Washington 18/07/2004-06/02/2005)
Labels and date
The inscriptions include a verse from the Koran and a dedication to an unnamed ruler. Said to have been made for the mosque of the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt an-Nasir Hasan (ruled 1347-51 and 1354-61) at Cairo.
SYRIAN ; middle of 14th century.
Bought (Myers Collection) [Old gallery label]
Lamp of Sultan Hasan
Egypt or Syria
About 1360
The lamp is from the large and impressive mosque of Sultan Hasan in Cairo, built in 1356-62. The inscription reads, 'God is the Light of the heavens and earth. His Light is like this: there is a wick-holder and in it a wick'. A wick-holder would once have floated on the oil in the lamp.
Glass, gilded and enamelled
Museum no. 323-1900 [Jameel Gallery]
Materials
Enamel; Glass; Gilt
Techniques
Painting; Gilding; Firing
Subjects depicted
Geometric pattern
Categories
Islam; Glass; Africa; Lighting
Collection code
MES
