The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Mosque Lamp of Amir Ahmad al-Mihmandar

Art Object

Collecting Turkmen Jewelry: The Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf Collection

In conjunction with the exhibition Turkmen Jewelry from the Collection of Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf (on view October 9, 2012, through February 24, 2013), Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf discuss their collecting practices and connection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. From the first few pieces that grew into a large collection of traditional Turkmen jewelry, the couple's appreciation for the jewelry has followed them for decades and allowed them to develop unique insights into the practice of collecting.

The exhibition is made possible by the Hagop Kevorkian Fund.

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Mosque Lamp of Amir Ahmad al-Mihmandar

Object Name:: Mosque lamp
Date:: ca. 1325
Geography:: Egypt or Syria
Medium:: Glass, colorless with brown tinge; blown, folded foot, applied wick holder and handles, enameled and gilded
Dimensions:: H. 10 1/2in. (26.7cm) Max. diam. 8 3/16 in. (20.8 cm)
Classification:: Glass
Credit Line:: Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
Accession Number:: 91.1.1534

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 454

Description

According to its inscription, Ahmad al‑Mihmandar (d. 1332) donated this lamp—probably one of several— to the madrasa that he erected in Cairo in 1324–25. His blazon, a white disk charged with a gold shield against a red bar, appears six times, amid a Qur'anic inscription on the neck (Sura 9:18) and against dense foliage on the underside.
Provenance

? Charles H.A. Schéfer, Paris; Edward C. Moore, New York (until d. 1891)
See also
What
Glass (16,083)

Gilt (9,077)

Lighting devices (2,633)

Lamps (1,150)

Mosque lamps (22)

Wicks (6)
Where
Asia (68,132)

Syria (1,275)
When
A.D. 1000-1400 (7,067)
In the Museum
Islamic Art (12,534)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
The Eastern Mediterranean, 1000–1400 A.D.
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