Lot Essay
The inscription around the body reads:
'izz li-mawlana al-sult[a]n al-malik al-'alim al-'a(a)lim al-'adil'
(glory to our lord, the Sultan, the King, the wise, the wise, the just).
The enamelled glass mosque lamp is probably the most distinctive of all the opulent products of the Mamluk empire which ran from 1250-1517 and ruled almost all of the present day Arabic speaking world. Its powerful form, coupled with the brilliantly coloured enamels are a consummate display of technical brilliance. All have the same basic form; only the foot varies from one to another, with some of the larger examples having a short ring foot in contrast to the present spreading trumpet foot. All were suspended from six loops fixed at regular intervals around the body, as here. Most of the surviving thirteenth century examples are decorated solely with red linear decoration enclosing panels of gilding. It is with the reign of al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad (1293-4, 1299-1309 and 1310-1341) that the use of other colours, and in particular the extensive use of a cobalt-blue enamel, became prevalent.
The lamps that have survived to the present day mostly date from the reigns of al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad, his son Hasan (al-Nasir Nasir al-Din) (1347-51 and 1354-61) and Barquq (al-Zahir Sayf al-Din) (1382-98 and 1390-99). While other reigns are represented, they are rare, and those dateable to the fifteenth century show a marked deterioration of quality, both in the drawing and in the colours of the enamels. The majority of those that survive are clearly specific commissions, bearing the insignia of the Sultan or one of the more powerful amirs (nobles). These take the form of blazons (roundels) which interrupt the main decorative bands and contain the heraldic bearings of the patron. The bearings of the sultan have his name and titles across the central band, while those made for amirs are more heraldic in the European sense, having symbols of the post(s) held by the patron.
The present lamp is clearly from the period of Sultan Hasan. A group of lamps are found in the Islamic Museum in Cairo which, in place of the more usual calligraphic bands, such as that seen around the body of the present lamp, have bands of floral decoration centred on pronounced lotus flowerheads. This group comes from the mosque and madrasa (religious school) complex of Sultan Hasan founded in 1363. Two of them have no other decoration save for this motif (Wiet, M. Gaston: Catalogue Général du Musée Arabe du Caire -- Lampes et Bouteilles en Verre Émaillé, Cairo, 1929, reprinted 1982, pls.XXII and XXIII). The popularity of this motif of Chinese origin reflected the proximity of the Mongol empire within which it was commonly found. The Mamluks were the warriors who had finally halted the Mongol advance which had been started by Ghengis Khan at its south-westernmost extremity, holding the Mongol forces at bay for the best part of a hundred years. Only in the fourteenth century did the gradual weakening of Mongol power reduce the threat.
Two other lamps from this period, made for amirs, are now in the Louvre and in the British Museum. Both share with this an unusually small size. The Louvre example is particularly close to the present lamp, having the entire surface covered with the blue ground floral motifs save for the blazon roundels of an amir ('Arts d'Islam des origines à 1700 dans les collections publiques francaises', Exhibition catalogue, Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, 1971, no.289, pp.199-200). Unfortunately, as here, it has been impossible to show which amir bore that particular blazon.
Within Mamluk blazons it is extremely unusual to find a blazon without any device on any of the three bands, although there are a very few other examples. It is just possible, although contrary to normal practice of the time, that the central red band of the blazons in the present example bore a device or inscription in gold painted after the firing of the lamp. Usual practice was to apply the gold below the enamelling; traces of it can be seen in various places on this lamp under the delicate red linear bands of decoration.
The Mamluk enamelled glass mosque lamp was probably the most collectable of all Islamic works of art in the second half of the nineteenth century, inspired by the romance of the East and the fascination with orientalism. Most have by now entered major museums and institutions. The 3rd Marquess of Bute was typical of his age with an eclectic taste, purchasing an item that then, as now, epitomised the romance of the Islamic World.
This lamp would appear to have been the prototype for the hanging-lamps supplied by Robert Rowand Anderson for the illumination of Mount Stuart, as can be seen in the photograph of the drawing-room of circa 1900 on the previous page.
'izz li-mawlana al-sult[a]n al-malik al-'alim al-'a(a)lim al-'adil'
(glory to our lord, the Sultan, the King, the wise, the wise, the just).
The enamelled glass mosque lamp is probably the most distinctive of all the opulent products of the Mamluk empire which ran from 1250-1517 and ruled almost all of the present day Arabic speaking world. Its powerful form, coupled with the brilliantly coloured enamels are a consummate display of technical brilliance. All have the same basic form; only the foot varies from one to another, with some of the larger examples having a short ring foot in contrast to the present spreading trumpet foot. All were suspended from six loops fixed at regular intervals around the body, as here. Most of the surviving thirteenth century examples are decorated solely with red linear decoration enclosing panels of gilding. It is with the reign of al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad (1293-4, 1299-1309 and 1310-1341) that the use of other colours, and in particular the extensive use of a cobalt-blue enamel, became prevalent.
The lamps that have survived to the present day mostly date from the reigns of al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad, his son Hasan (al-Nasir Nasir al-Din) (1347-51 and 1354-61) and Barquq (al-Zahir Sayf al-Din) (1382-98 and 1390-99). While other reigns are represented, they are rare, and those dateable to the fifteenth century show a marked deterioration of quality, both in the drawing and in the colours of the enamels. The majority of those that survive are clearly specific commissions, bearing the insignia of the Sultan or one of the more powerful amirs (nobles). These take the form of blazons (roundels) which interrupt the main decorative bands and contain the heraldic bearings of the patron. The bearings of the sultan have his name and titles across the central band, while those made for amirs are more heraldic in the European sense, having symbols of the post(s) held by the patron.
The present lamp is clearly from the period of Sultan Hasan. A group of lamps are found in the Islamic Museum in Cairo which, in place of the more usual calligraphic bands, such as that seen around the body of the present lamp, have bands of floral decoration centred on pronounced lotus flowerheads. This group comes from the mosque and madrasa (religious school) complex of Sultan Hasan founded in 1363. Two of them have no other decoration save for this motif (Wiet, M. Gaston: Catalogue Général du Musée Arabe du Caire -- Lampes et Bouteilles en Verre Émaillé, Cairo, 1929, reprinted 1982, pls.XXII and XXIII). The popularity of this motif of Chinese origin reflected the proximity of the Mongol empire within which it was commonly found. The Mamluks were the warriors who had finally halted the Mongol advance which had been started by Ghengis Khan at its south-westernmost extremity, holding the Mongol forces at bay for the best part of a hundred years. Only in the fourteenth century did the gradual weakening of Mongol power reduce the threat.
Two other lamps from this period, made for amirs, are now in the Louvre and in the British Museum. Both share with this an unusually small size. The Louvre example is particularly close to the present lamp, having the entire surface covered with the blue ground floral motifs save for the blazon roundels of an amir ('Arts d'Islam des origines à 1700 dans les collections publiques francaises', Exhibition catalogue, Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris, 1971, no.289, pp.199-200). Unfortunately, as here, it has been impossible to show which amir bore that particular blazon.
Within Mamluk blazons it is extremely unusual to find a blazon without any device on any of the three bands, although there are a very few other examples. It is just possible, although contrary to normal practice of the time, that the central red band of the blazons in the present example bore a device or inscription in gold painted after the firing of the lamp. Usual practice was to apply the gold below the enamelling; traces of it can be seen in various places on this lamp under the delicate red linear bands of decoration.
The Mamluk enamelled glass mosque lamp was probably the most collectable of all Islamic works of art in the second half of the nineteenth century, inspired by the romance of the East and the fascination with orientalism. Most have by now entered major museums and institutions. The 3rd Marquess of Bute was typical of his age with an eclectic taste, purchasing an item that then, as now, epitomised the romance of the Islamic World.
This lamp would appear to have been the prototype for the hanging-lamps supplied by Robert Rowand Anderson for the illumination of Mount Stuart, as can be seen in the photograph of the drawing-room of circa 1900 on the previous page.