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Lot Essay
The inscription around the lower boss is a koranic phrase frequently found on lamps: "God is the light of the Heavens and the Earth" (sura xxiv, parts of v.35).
This unique object is an extraordinary Andalucian version of a Roman oil lamp, of a type which has not survived in its complete form from classical antiquity. It is a technical masterpiece, displaying a very high level of skill on the part of the maker. It is cast in a number of pieces which are then joined seamlessly. An immediately obvious instance of this is the way the upper surface of the reservoir joins the underside. Despite the thickness of metal involved there is no visible join. The mechanics of the joint between the domed base and the inscribed baluster boss are easier to see, by looking underneath. Here instead of using a flux of a softer metal, the thick bronze flange which extended below the boss has been hammered round once it had passed through the hole in the base to form a join which does not move at all. Bearing in mind the weight it has to support this is essential.
The design of this oil lamp has been very thoroughly thought through. The inner part of the telescopic stem is made with a flange very slightly protruding at the base which then catches on a very small bar inserted alongside the inner side of the wall of the outer part to ensure that the inner column cannot be lifted too high and therefore topple over. Similarly, the whole reason for the creation of the telescopic stem on this scale is to enable the lamp to be filled but then raised to a height where it would not have been dangerous to the hair of people passing by. Originally the inner column would have disappreared entirely within the outer; the pin supporting it when it is in its lowered position is a later insertion. Another subtlety is that the six wicks do not project evenly but very slightly bend inwards in pairs, thus framing the extraordinary bulls' heads.
While the casting and conception are enormously impressive, the engraving is no less so. The lines are executed with a confidence and surety of every curve that they appear to have been as easy to create as lines with pen and ink. Whether executing a very complex arabesque interlace as seen on the foot, the well-composed bird on the underside of the well, or the elegant bands of meadering leafy vine which appear at various stages, the control of line and depth is remarkable.
There is a Roman bronze multiple wick oil lamp in the Wallace Collection, purchased in these Rooms on 1 May 1884 as lot 52, whose form is very closely related to that of the upper section of the present lamp (Mann, J. G.: Wallace Collection Catalogues, Sculpture, London, 1931, no.S.236, p.87 and pl.60). In 1795 this lamp was found at Herculaneum which clearly dates it to the first century A.D. at the latest. It comprises a shallow rounded disc with ten radiating bulls' heads. A hole in the upper neck of each serves for the wick. The centre is covered with a band of cast masks around the finial of the separable cover cast in the round with two addorsed satyrs' heads. Its size, at 15in. (38.1cm.) across, is also very comparable. With the exception of the number of wicks and the fact that the wicks are to be inserted into the animals' heads themselves, the method of use is identical. The note to that catalogue entry also draws attention to a drawing of a related piece in the Meyrick Collection which was used as the frontispiece to volume II of J Skelton's Engraved Illustrations of Ancient Armour, where the wicks are inserted into nozzles between the animals' heads, although in that instance the animals are horses. Another apparently similar composition but with heads of Bacchus between six protruding nozzles was sold as lot 50 in the same 1884 Christie's sale. There can be no doubt that the upper section is a near direct copy of a Roman original.
This upper section is placed on an adjustable base which is also taken directly from a Roman original. The only pieces using this mechanism which have survived are all lampstands that have flat upper trays on which to place separate oil lamps. One such example was excavated from a site in the Vesuvius area. It rests on three feet, each divided by flaring fan-shaped skirts from which it rises to a telescopic square-section stem. The height can be adjusted by the inserted of a pin to support the inner square section tube at the appropriate height, exactly as is the case here (Ward-Perkins, John, and Claridge, Amanda: Pompeii AD79, exhibition catalogue, London, 1977, no.126a).
At first glance the feet are disconcerting, appearing to be human feet which would be haram in a muslim court. Again however it is a local interpretation of a classical form which has ended up looking somewhat humanoid. There are many instances of items of classical furniture which have bronze feet which extend outwards almost parallel to the ground, terminating in a claw. In the original this represents the complete leg of a mammal which is bent at the knee so that it rests on or just above the ground in the same way that the rear leg of a crouching lion or cat does.
While the original form is entirely Roman, the interpretation is completely in the Spanish Islamic aesthetic. All the parts have been rendered somewhat heavier, with more obvious solid strength and less elegant attenuation. All the forms are more rounded than in the Roman version. The aesthetic which is the key to the appeal of Islamic metalworking across many separate cultures tends to consist of powerful forms onto which an exquisitely decorated surface is applied. This is particularly true of Spanish mediaeval bronzes. The hind sold in these Rooms as lot 259 on 25 April 1997 had a sculptural form which was simplified, while its surface was completely covered with engraved patterns.
Much of the engraved decoration of this lamp compares very closely with work on other Spanish Islamic bronzes. The curling elegant leafy terminal which stretches on the upper surface towards each nozzle is very similar to those stretching down the legs of the hind mentioned above. The doubled similar motif which is under the wing on each side of the cockerel is very close indeed to designs filling spaces around the medallions on the haunches of the lion sold in these Rooms 19 October 1993, lot 293. Even clearer is the more pronounced version of this, comprising two addorsed double leaves which almost form a butterfly shape that is seen in isolation in the roundels on the skirt at the top of each leg and which also form the central motif of each of the repeats of the interlace pattern around the foot. This is the motif which covers the surface of a casket of the caliph al-Hisham II in Gerona dating from 976 AD (Dodds, Jerrilynn D.: Al-Andalus, the Art of Islamic Spain, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1992, no.9, pp.208-209) and which is also a motif frequently encountered in architecture, being found for example both in the spandrels and in the short frieze above the columns of a marble mihrab originally made for Cordoba but subsequently moved to the cloister in the cathedral of Tarragona (Gmez-Moreno, Manuel: El arte arabe espaol hasta los Almohades. Arte mozrabe, Madrid, 1951 fig.124, p.88).
The band of inscription is again possible to parallel in other works known from Andalucia. The treatment of certain letters are common between this inscription and those on the Pisa griffin and its sister-piece, the lion sold here in 1993, mentioned above. One of the 1993 catalogue illustrations clearly shows the sin from the word sa'ada and salama. In all cases the base line of the letter is on a slant, and the vertical strokes curve round rather than being straight. Although the direction of the curve can very, both directions being found on the lion, one of its sins curves the same way as the present example. At the lower end of each vertical dividing stroke within the letter on each piece is a small roundel. While the sins on the Pisa griffin are more rectilinear, the inscription shares with the present example the facet of turning the upper ends of the hastae along the upper edge of the band. The same turning of the hastae is seen in a cruder form on the bronze deer in the Bargello Museum, Florence (Curatola, Giovanni: Eredit dell'Islam, exhibition catalogue, Venice, 1994, no.41, pp.124-5). The treatment of the vine scrolls on the two animals differs one from the other, the Griffin having tighter scrolls. The present inscription is the only one where the foliate motifs pass behind the letters. This is more similar to inscriptions in stone, such as one on a cenotaph in the Museum in Toledo (Gmez Moreno, op.cit, fig.274, p.218). Although the lettering itself on that inscription is not so similar, the upper border is of roundels which is again similar to the inscription borders on the lion and griffin.
The decoration of this column with its interlace of tendrils enclosing palmettes, and disappearing into the side borders only to reappear higher up when appropriate, is similar to that in the border of the same Tarragona mihrab panel mentioned above. The stem on the present lamp, while following the same basic principles, has made the whole design more abtsract and less vegetal, the palmettes actually lacking stems since the tendrils pass right across them.
All these various decorative details link this oil lamp to other works of art thought to be from the tenth and eleventh century. The later date would also be consistent with what is known about the attitudes in Spain during this period in history. At the beginning of the eleventh century the caliphal power in Cordoba was destroyed, resulting in a fragmentation of the political structure within the Iberian peninsula. Many local dynasties established themselves in various cities. Their desire however to impress remained as strong as that of the caliph in Medinat al-Zahra', and many highly elaborate architectural enterprises were begun. Unfortunately little remains either in architecture or the applied arts from this period which, coupled with the lack of a centralised influence on style, considerably hinders our understanding of this period. The artistic atmosphere was summed up in her essay on this period by Cynthia Robinson: "The Taifa attitude towards Crdoba is epitomised in the work of the Hispano-Islamic poet Ibn Zaydun who describes Crdoba and Medinat al-Zahra' impressionistically and selectively, never literally, remembering it with yearning, indistictly, and in hazy vignettes. It is in just this same manner that Cordoban architectural and decorative arts prototypes were approached. .....the ornamentation of luxury objects were adapted, albeit sometimes obliquely and in combination with comtemporary Hispano-Islamic and foreign influences by Taifa artists". ("Arts of the Taifa Kingdoms", in Dodds, op. cit., p.52). The end of the Taifa period was caused by the arrival of the Almoravid dynasty and their armies from North Africa. Their puritan attitudes would never have countenanced such an extraordinary work as the present oil lamp.
A metallurgical analysis of this lamp, performed by Dr. Peter Northover of the Department of Materials, Oxford, is consistent with the proposed dating.
This unique object is an extraordinary Andalucian version of a Roman oil lamp, of a type which has not survived in its complete form from classical antiquity. It is a technical masterpiece, displaying a very high level of skill on the part of the maker. It is cast in a number of pieces which are then joined seamlessly. An immediately obvious instance of this is the way the upper surface of the reservoir joins the underside. Despite the thickness of metal involved there is no visible join. The mechanics of the joint between the domed base and the inscribed baluster boss are easier to see, by looking underneath. Here instead of using a flux of a softer metal, the thick bronze flange which extended below the boss has been hammered round once it had passed through the hole in the base to form a join which does not move at all. Bearing in mind the weight it has to support this is essential.
The design of this oil lamp has been very thoroughly thought through. The inner part of the telescopic stem is made with a flange very slightly protruding at the base which then catches on a very small bar inserted alongside the inner side of the wall of the outer part to ensure that the inner column cannot be lifted too high and therefore topple over. Similarly, the whole reason for the creation of the telescopic stem on this scale is to enable the lamp to be filled but then raised to a height where it would not have been dangerous to the hair of people passing by. Originally the inner column would have disappreared entirely within the outer; the pin supporting it when it is in its lowered position is a later insertion. Another subtlety is that the six wicks do not project evenly but very slightly bend inwards in pairs, thus framing the extraordinary bulls' heads.
While the casting and conception are enormously impressive, the engraving is no less so. The lines are executed with a confidence and surety of every curve that they appear to have been as easy to create as lines with pen and ink. Whether executing a very complex arabesque interlace as seen on the foot, the well-composed bird on the underside of the well, or the elegant bands of meadering leafy vine which appear at various stages, the control of line and depth is remarkable.
There is a Roman bronze multiple wick oil lamp in the Wallace Collection, purchased in these Rooms on 1 May 1884 as lot 52, whose form is very closely related to that of the upper section of the present lamp (Mann, J. G.: Wallace Collection Catalogues, Sculpture, London, 1931, no.S.236, p.87 and pl.60). In 1795 this lamp was found at Herculaneum which clearly dates it to the first century A.D. at the latest. It comprises a shallow rounded disc with ten radiating bulls' heads. A hole in the upper neck of each serves for the wick. The centre is covered with a band of cast masks around the finial of the separable cover cast in the round with two addorsed satyrs' heads. Its size, at 15in. (38.1cm.) across, is also very comparable. With the exception of the number of wicks and the fact that the wicks are to be inserted into the animals' heads themselves, the method of use is identical. The note to that catalogue entry also draws attention to a drawing of a related piece in the Meyrick Collection which was used as the frontispiece to volume II of J Skelton's Engraved Illustrations of Ancient Armour, where the wicks are inserted into nozzles between the animals' heads, although in that instance the animals are horses. Another apparently similar composition but with heads of Bacchus between six protruding nozzles was sold as lot 50 in the same 1884 Christie's sale. There can be no doubt that the upper section is a near direct copy of a Roman original.
This upper section is placed on an adjustable base which is also taken directly from a Roman original. The only pieces using this mechanism which have survived are all lampstands that have flat upper trays on which to place separate oil lamps. One such example was excavated from a site in the Vesuvius area. It rests on three feet, each divided by flaring fan-shaped skirts from which it rises to a telescopic square-section stem. The height can be adjusted by the inserted of a pin to support the inner square section tube at the appropriate height, exactly as is the case here (Ward-Perkins, John, and Claridge, Amanda: Pompeii AD79, exhibition catalogue, London, 1977, no.126a).
At first glance the feet are disconcerting, appearing to be human feet which would be haram in a muslim court. Again however it is a local interpretation of a classical form which has ended up looking somewhat humanoid. There are many instances of items of classical furniture which have bronze feet which extend outwards almost parallel to the ground, terminating in a claw. In the original this represents the complete leg of a mammal which is bent at the knee so that it rests on or just above the ground in the same way that the rear leg of a crouching lion or cat does.
While the original form is entirely Roman, the interpretation is completely in the Spanish Islamic aesthetic. All the parts have been rendered somewhat heavier, with more obvious solid strength and less elegant attenuation. All the forms are more rounded than in the Roman version. The aesthetic which is the key to the appeal of Islamic metalworking across many separate cultures tends to consist of powerful forms onto which an exquisitely decorated surface is applied. This is particularly true of Spanish mediaeval bronzes. The hind sold in these Rooms as lot 259 on 25 April 1997 had a sculptural form which was simplified, while its surface was completely covered with engraved patterns.
Much of the engraved decoration of this lamp compares very closely with work on other Spanish Islamic bronzes. The curling elegant leafy terminal which stretches on the upper surface towards each nozzle is very similar to those stretching down the legs of the hind mentioned above. The doubled similar motif which is under the wing on each side of the cockerel is very close indeed to designs filling spaces around the medallions on the haunches of the lion sold in these Rooms 19 October 1993, lot 293. Even clearer is the more pronounced version of this, comprising two addorsed double leaves which almost form a butterfly shape that is seen in isolation in the roundels on the skirt at the top of each leg and which also form the central motif of each of the repeats of the interlace pattern around the foot. This is the motif which covers the surface of a casket of the caliph al-Hisham II in Gerona dating from 976 AD (Dodds, Jerrilynn D.: Al-Andalus, the Art of Islamic Spain, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1992, no.9, pp.208-209) and which is also a motif frequently encountered in architecture, being found for example both in the spandrels and in the short frieze above the columns of a marble mihrab originally made for Cordoba but subsequently moved to the cloister in the cathedral of Tarragona (Gmez-Moreno, Manuel: El arte arabe espaol hasta los Almohades. Arte mozrabe, Madrid, 1951 fig.124, p.88).
The band of inscription is again possible to parallel in other works known from Andalucia. The treatment of certain letters are common between this inscription and those on the Pisa griffin and its sister-piece, the lion sold here in 1993, mentioned above. One of the 1993 catalogue illustrations clearly shows the sin from the word sa'ada and salama. In all cases the base line of the letter is on a slant, and the vertical strokes curve round rather than being straight. Although the direction of the curve can very, both directions being found on the lion, one of its sins curves the same way as the present example. At the lower end of each vertical dividing stroke within the letter on each piece is a small roundel. While the sins on the Pisa griffin are more rectilinear, the inscription shares with the present example the facet of turning the upper ends of the hastae along the upper edge of the band. The same turning of the hastae is seen in a cruder form on the bronze deer in the Bargello Museum, Florence (Curatola, Giovanni: Eredit dell'Islam, exhibition catalogue, Venice, 1994, no.41, pp.124-5). The treatment of the vine scrolls on the two animals differs one from the other, the Griffin having tighter scrolls. The present inscription is the only one where the foliate motifs pass behind the letters. This is more similar to inscriptions in stone, such as one on a cenotaph in the Museum in Toledo (Gmez Moreno, op.cit, fig.274, p.218). Although the lettering itself on that inscription is not so similar, the upper border is of roundels which is again similar to the inscription borders on the lion and griffin.
The decoration of this column with its interlace of tendrils enclosing palmettes, and disappearing into the side borders only to reappear higher up when appropriate, is similar to that in the border of the same Tarragona mihrab panel mentioned above. The stem on the present lamp, while following the same basic principles, has made the whole design more abtsract and less vegetal, the palmettes actually lacking stems since the tendrils pass right across them.
All these various decorative details link this oil lamp to other works of art thought to be from the tenth and eleventh century. The later date would also be consistent with what is known about the attitudes in Spain during this period in history. At the beginning of the eleventh century the caliphal power in Cordoba was destroyed, resulting in a fragmentation of the political structure within the Iberian peninsula. Many local dynasties established themselves in various cities. Their desire however to impress remained as strong as that of the caliph in Medinat al-Zahra', and many highly elaborate architectural enterprises were begun. Unfortunately little remains either in architecture or the applied arts from this period which, coupled with the lack of a centralised influence on style, considerably hinders our understanding of this period. The artistic atmosphere was summed up in her essay on this period by Cynthia Robinson: "The Taifa attitude towards Crdoba is epitomised in the work of the Hispano-Islamic poet Ibn Zaydun who describes Crdoba and Medinat al-Zahra' impressionistically and selectively, never literally, remembering it with yearning, indistictly, and in hazy vignettes. It is in just this same manner that Cordoban architectural and decorative arts prototypes were approached. .....the ornamentation of luxury objects were adapted, albeit sometimes obliquely and in combination with comtemporary Hispano-Islamic and foreign influences by Taifa artists". ("Arts of the Taifa Kingdoms", in Dodds, op. cit., p.52). The end of the Taifa period was caused by the arrival of the Almoravid dynasty and their armies from North Africa. Their puritan attitudes would never have countenanced such an extraordinary work as the present oil lamp.
A metallurgical analysis of this lamp, performed by Dr. Peter Northover of the Department of Materials, Oxford, is consistent with the proposed dating.