Fragment of a Lamp
Ceramic lamps in this shape were most common in Iran and Iraq in the early Islamic periods. They are either unglazed or, from the ninth/tenth century onwards, glazed in green. By the twelfth century, the lamps’ shape had changed to include a closed reservoir that was often placed on a stem.
This object comes from excavations at Samarra, in Iraq, a vast archaeological area that corresponds to the site where the Abbasid caliph al-Muʿtasim founded and moved his capital, from Baghdad, in 836 C.E.
Artwork Details
- Title: Fragment of a Lamp
- Date: 9th–10th century
- Geography: Found/excavated Iraq, Samarra
- Medium: Earthenware; glazed
- Dimensions: H. 3 1/8 (7.9 cm)
Diam. 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm) - Classification: Ceramics
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1923
- Object Number: 23.75.30
- Curatorial Department: Islamic Art
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