Mosque Lamp of Amir Qawsun
ca. 1329–35
Medium
Glass, colorless with brown tinge; blown, blown applied foot, enameled and gilded
Dimensions
H. 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm) Max. diam. 10 1/16 in. (25.6 cm) Diam. with handles 10 5/16 in. (26.2 cm)
Classification
Glass
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.991
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite Mosque Lamp of Amir Qawsun was created around 1329–35 by the glassmaker ‘Ali ibn Muhammad al-Barmaki. Standing just over fourteen inches tall, the vessel was formed from colorless glass with a subtle brown tinge, then finished with an applied foot, enamel decoration, and gilding. Such lamps were designed to hang in mosques, where they would hold oil and wicks, casting a warm, flickering light across prayer halls. The lamp reflects the refined artistic traditions of the Islamic world during the Mamluk period, when enameled and gilded glass reached extraordinary heights of techni...