Fragment of a Mosque Lamp
lamp maker
Unknown
Datemid 14th century
Place MadeSyria, Middle East
MediumEnamel and gilding on brownish glass
Dimensions10 x 23.5 cm (3 15/16 x 9 1/4 in.)
ClassificationsLighting Devices
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberC27w74
eMuseum ID725137
EmbARK ObjectID12421
TMS Source ID1545
Last Updated1/15/25
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis fragmentary, 14th century mosque lamp bears an inscription from the Qur'an. The words are formed from enameled letters decorating its flare and rim. They are taken from Sura 9, verse 18, celebrating the true believer's all encompassing commitment to God.
The Qu'ran sanctioned mosque lamps in one of its most famous passages (Sura 24, verse 35):
God is the light of the heavens and the earth.
The parable of His light is as if there were a niche,
And within it a lamp, the lamp inside a glass,
The Glass like a brilliant star
Lit from a blessed tree, an olive from neither East nor West,
Whose oil is almost luminous though scarcely touched by fire...
The Qu'ran sanctioned mosque lamps in one of its most famous passages (Sura 24, verse 35):
God is the light of the heavens and the earth.
The parable of His light is as if there were a niche,
And within it a lamp, the lamp inside a glass,
The Glass like a brilliant star
Lit from a blessed tree, an olive from neither East nor West,
Whose oil is almost luminous though scarcely touched by fire...
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 232. (as Arabian, 14th century)
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 8, no. 3 (20 Sep. 1964), p. 2. (as 14th century)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 123-25, no. 58. (as Syrian or Egyptian, mid 14th century)
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 8, no. 3 (20 Sep. 1964), p. 2. (as 14th century)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 123-25, no. 58. (as Syrian or Egyptian, mid 14th century)
MarksNotesInscribed (around the rim, in thuluth letters): The mosques of God shall be tended / By those who believe in God / And in the Final Day, and who observe / Regular prayers, and give / Alms regularly, and who fear / No one but God. / Only these can be of the truly guided (Koran 9:18)
ProvenanceNotesPossibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from an unknown dealer for $400 on 19 February 1915, through the painter Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950).
