Name of Object:

Oil lamp

Location:

Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Museums

 About Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Museums, Glasgow

Date of Object:

Hegira 6th century / AD 12th century

Museum Inventory Number:

1919.84.gh

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Stone-paste (fritware), with an opaque turquoise glaze.

Dimensions:

Height 9 cm, length 13 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Fatimid

Provenance:

Fustat, Egypt.

Description:

A stone-paste (fritware) oil lamp with a long, open spout, cylindrical neck, looped handle and spherical body; an opaque turquoise glaze covers the whole lamp, inside and out. In style, this lamp is typical of AH 6th- / AD 12th-century Fatimid Fustat pottery. Fustat was one of the wealthiest cities in the Islamic world at that time, and was quite populous with many of its dwellings comprising of five to seven levels.

This lamp and many others like it lit the interiors of Fustat's buildings, and testify to its position as one of the leading cities of the Middle East during the Fatimid period (AH 296–566 / AD 909–1171). A busy port, the residents of Fustat included tradesmen who dealt with a wide variety of goods that arrived from all over the world, from places as far away as China. Fustat was also an important manufacturing centre, accommodating craftsmen who produced fine ceramics, glassware, steel and copper products and textiles.

View Short Description

The shape of this lamp is typical of those found at the city of Fustat in Fatimid Egypt. Fustat was a densely populated city, with craftsmen and artisans' workshops catering for the local and export markets. They were exposed to a wide range of artistic styles that came through goods from far lands.

How date and origin were established:

Stylistic analysis: comparable examples have been found at Fustat, Egypt, dating back to the 6th / 12th century.

How Object was obtained:

Purchased by the Museum in 1919.

How provenance was established:

Comparable examples have been found at Fustat, Egypt, dating back to the 6th / 12th century.

Selected bibliography:

Fehervari, G., Ceramics of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum, London, 2000.

Philon, H., Early Islamic Ceramics: Ninth to Late Twelfth Centuries, Athens, 1980.

Citation of this web page:

Noorah Al-Gailani "Oil lamp" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus04;21;en

Prepared by: Noorah Al-Gailani
Copyedited by: Mandi Gomez


MWNF Working Number: UK4 26