Mosque Lamp
1550-1600 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Venetian enamelled and gilt glass was a luxury product exported all over Italy and beyond. The glassmakers of Venice had an excellent and wide spread reputation for high-quality colourless glass and fine workmanship in gilding and enamelling.
Syrian and Egyptian enamelled glass was imported into Italy as a luxury product from at least the thirteenth century onwards, but by the mid fifteenth century the quality of Venetian glass was superior and the situation had reversed. Mosque lamps were produced in large quantities by the glassmakers of Egypt and Syria during the fourteenth century, but by the fifteenth century, local production of high quality glass has all but died out. Even mosque lamps had to be imported. In 1569, Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pacha in Istanbul, placed an order for nine hundred Venetian glass lamps. The accompanying drawings are still kept in the Venetian State Archive.
Our mosque lamp has traces of 'cold' (unfired) gilding and it is very well possible, that it was exported from Murano to Egypt as a blank, to be decorated by local craftsmen.
Syrian and Egyptian enamelled glass was imported into Italy as a luxury product from at least the thirteenth century onwards, but by the mid fifteenth century the quality of Venetian glass was superior and the situation had reversed. Mosque lamps were produced in large quantities by the glassmakers of Egypt and Syria during the fourteenth century, but by the fifteenth century, local production of high quality glass has all but died out. Even mosque lamps had to be imported. In 1569, Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pacha in Istanbul, placed an order for nine hundred Venetian glass lamps. The accompanying drawings are still kept in the Venetian State Archive.
Our mosque lamp has traces of 'cold' (unfired) gilding and it is very well possible, that it was exported from Murano to Egypt as a blank, to be decorated by local craftsmen.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Clear colourless glass, blown, with traces of original adhesive for gilding |
| Brief description | Mosque lamp of colourless glass with traces of cold (un-fired) decoaration, possibly Italy (Venice), 1550-1600 |
| Physical description | Clear colourless glass lamp with four molded handles. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | Made for export to the Near East. Purchased in 1900 from a collection formed largely in Cairo, Egypt. |
| Object history | This lamp was purchased in 1900 from a collection formed largely in Cairo, Egypt. |
| Historical context | Venetian enamelled and gilt glass was a luxury product exported all over Italy and beyond. The glassmakers of Venice had an excellent and wide spread reputation for high-quality colourless glass and fine workmanship in gilding and enamelling. Syrian and Egyptian enamelled glass was imported into Italy as a luxury product from at least the thirteenth century onwards, but by the mid fifteenth century the quality of Venetian glass was superior and the situation had reversed. Mosque lamps were produced in large quantities by the glassmakers of Egypt and Syria during the fourteenth century, but by the fifteenth century, local production of high quality glass has all but died out. Even mosque lamps had to be imported. In 1569, Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pacha in Istanbul, placed an order for nine hundred Venetian glass lamps. The accompanying drawings are still kept in the Venetian State Archive. Our mosque lamp has traces of 'cold' (unfired) gilding and it is very well possible, that it was exported from Murano to Egypt as a blank, to be decorated by local craftsmen. |
| Production | date: 'possibly' |
| Summary | Venetian enamelled and gilt glass was a luxury product exported all over Italy and beyond. The glassmakers of Venice had an excellent and wide spread reputation for high-quality colourless glass and fine workmanship in gilding and enamelling. Syrian and Egyptian enamelled glass was imported into Italy as a luxury product from at least the thirteenth century onwards, but by the mid fifteenth century the quality of Venetian glass was superior and the situation had reversed. Mosque lamps were produced in large quantities by the glassmakers of Egypt and Syria during the fourteenth century, but by the fifteenth century, local production of high quality glass has all but died out. Even mosque lamps had to be imported. In 1569, Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pacha in Istanbul, placed an order for nine hundred Venetian glass lamps. The accompanying drawings are still kept in the Venetian State Archive. Our mosque lamp has traces of 'cold' (unfired) gilding and it is very well possible, that it was exported from Murano to Egypt as a blank, to be decorated by local craftsmen. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 332-1900 |
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| Record created | December 13, 1997 |
| Record URL |
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