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Mosque Lamp of Amir Qawsun

ca. 1329–35
Not on view
Large glass lamps of this type were commissioned by sultans and members of their court for mosques, madrasas (Qur'anic schools), tombs, hospices, and other public buildings in fourteenth-century Mamluk Cairo. This example bears the name of its patron, Qawsun (d. 1342), amir of the Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalaun (r. 1293–1341 with brief interruptions), and was probably intended for one of his two architectural commissions in Cairo—a mosque or a tomb-hospice complex.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mosque Lamp of Amir Qawsun
  • Maker: 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Barmaki (Egyptian) ?
  • Date: ca. 1329–35
  • Geography: Made in Egypt
  • 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
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.991
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

Audio

Cover Image for 6773. Reading: Qur'an, Light Verse

6773. Reading: Qur'an, Light Verse

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