Mosque Lamp

Brocard was a French glass artist, restorer, and collector of Islamic glass. He rediscovered the means of enameling glass used in historic examples. Brocard exhibited his works at numerous World's Fairs during the second half of the nineteenth century, and sold from his shop located in the rue Bertrand, Paris. His works were popular among American collectors, many examples entering the country through the New York dealer and collector Samuel P. Avery.

This lamp is based on a 14th-century Mamluk example. The inscription running around the top of the object is from "Surat al-Nur" (the light verse), verse 35: "Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there was a Niche and within it a Lamp." The inscription on the body mentions that the lamp was made for a madrasa (school) and mausoleum and gives part of the name.

Islamic glass production reached a high point in 14th-century Egypt and Syria as the result of the intense patronage of Mamluk amirs and sultans commissioning civic-religious structures and palaces. In the 19th century, there was significant appreciation for Mamluk art in Europe and Egypt itself, which witnessed a "Mamluk Revival."

Inscription

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Dr. George Krotkoff; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 2014.