Cleveland Museum of Art

Mosque Lamp

Date

late 1800s

Medium

glass with enameled and gilded decoration

Culture

France

Department

Islamic Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In late 1800s Europe, there was a renewed interest in art from the Islamic world. Mosque lamps, made for Mamluk rulers and their high officials in the 1300s, were particularly prized. Phillippe-Joseph Brocard, a Parisian collector and craftsman, is renowned for reviving the Mamluk technique of enameling and gilding glass and produced many lamp reproductions. This lamp used to be in his collection and it is possible that it was made by him. The top Qur’anic inscription likens divine light to a shining glass lamp. This colorful lamp would have been suspended by its six handles. When lowered to refill its oil, it could stand securely on its splayed foot.

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