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Lot Essay
This lamp very closely relates to a 14th century example also bearing the name of the Mamluk Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (17.190.897). Given by J. Pierpont Morgan to the museum, it has very similar calligraphic bands, inverted tear drop forms and blue bands. For other Brocard examples, see the Collection Of The Late Baroness Batsheva De Rothschild, Christie’s, London, 14 December 2000, lot 14; and the example at the Corning Museum of Glass (78.3.16).
The reign of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad was not only one of the longest of all during the Mamluk period, it was also the most prosperous, particularly in the years 1310-41. This wealth encouraged patronage of the arts, both by the Sultan and by his emirs who appear almost to have tried each to surpass the other in opulence. Numerous architectural commissions were started; works were also created to a remarkable level of decorative detail in the decorative arts, notably metalwork and glass.
The reign of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad was not only one of the longest of all during the Mamluk period, it was also the most prosperous, particularly in the years 1310-41. This wealth encouraged patronage of the arts, both by the Sultan and by his emirs who appear almost to have tried each to surpass the other in opulence. Numerous architectural commissions were started; works were also created to a remarkable level of decorative detail in the decorative arts, notably metalwork and glass.