Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Lamp Stand

1027–29 AH/1617–18 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 462
This distinctive tall, cylindrical shape is characteristic of a group of Safavid lamp stands which share a similar silhouette and ornamentation. Many are covered with lyrical and mystical verses by celebrated poets of the period, reflecting the important relationship between Persian poetry and the visual arts. Rhythmic, scrolling vegetal arabesques serve as a background for the interspersed verses in Persian nasta’liq script from Sa`di’s "The Moth and the Candle", which read:

"I remember a glance of your eye. I have heard that the moth said to the candle: I love you and if I shall be burned so be it. My tears and burning give you pleasure; I am the moth and it is my destiny to be burned; my heart is not quiet if I am not burned."

This poem references the story of the moth and the flame, a sufi allegory in which the moth (the believer) is spellbound by the light of the beloved (God). According to the sufis, this may be understood as a spiritual metaphor in which the moth represents the human soul, drawn passionately to the divine light, longing to be reunited with God.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lamp Stand
  • Dedicatee: Abdullah Haidar al-Husaini
  • Date: 1027–29 AH/1617–18 CE
  • Geography: Attributed to Iran
  • Medium: Brass; cast, engraved, and inlaid with black compound and applied cinnabar
  • Dimensions: H. 18 5/8 in. (47.3cm)
  • Classification: Metal
  • Credit Line: Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
  • Object Number: 91.1.554a
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Swan-Neck Glass Bottle, Glass, blue; dip-molded, blown, folded foot
Swan-Neck Glass Bottle
19th century
Funerary mask, Lambayeque (Sicán) artist(s), Gold, silver-copper alloy, cinnabar, Lambayeque (Sicán)
Funerary mask
Lambayeque (Sicán) artist(s)
900–1100 CE
Carpet with Palm Trees, Ibexes, and Birds, Cotton (warp and weft), wool (pile); asymmetrically knotted pile
Carpet with Palm Trees, Ibexes, and Birds
late 16th–early 17th century
Calligraphic Plaque, Steel; forged and pierced
Calligraphic Plaque
probably late 17th century
Aquamanile in the Form of a Human Head, Bronze; Ternary copper alloy with a very high percentage of zinc (approx. 68% copper,<br/>approx. 26% zinc, approx. 4% tin), covered with a thin black lacquer patina; traces of cinnabar have been detected on the interior and exterior of the vessel., German or French, Paris (in fourteenth-century Hildesheim style)
Aquamanile in the Form of a Human Head
German or French, Paris (in fourteenth-century Hildesheim style)
last quarter 19th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.