Lot Essay
Both the style and the decrative technique of this small oil lamp point to an early date in the Islamic period. The shape with the sunken cover of the upper part and the two small holes for the wick and for filling is exactly the same as was used in the Roman period (Syrie, mmoire et civilisation, exhibition catalogue, Paris, 1993, no.255, p.310). The glaze covering crisp linear decoration is also typical of the early period as in the lug in lot 286 in this sale. Furthermore the writing of the word baraka is a very simple form of kufic which would also be consistent with an early dating.