Lamp
Unknown Artist
7th–11th century
Medium
Earthenware; unglazed
Dimensions
H. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm) W. 2 3/8 in. (6 cm)
Classification
Ceramics
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Miriam Schaar Schloessinger, 1964
Accession Number
64.207.1
Art Historical Context
This modest earthenware lamp, dating from the 7th to 11th century, offers a glimpse into the everyday life of the early Islamic world. Crafted unglazed clay and standing just 1 7/8 inches high and 2 3/8 inches wide, it the simple, functional ceramics produced during the formative centuries of Islam, from the Umayyad early Abbasid periods. These small oil lamps, likely hand-formed on a wheel or by molding, were ubiquitous in homes, mosques, markets across regions like the Levant, Mesopotamia, and North Africa, illuminating spaces before modern electricity. Unglazed earthenware was a practical ...