Day 160 - Lamp

June 12, 2019

The works in Gallery 454 come mainly from Egypt, Syria, and the Jazira (the area btween the Tigris and the northern Euphrates) and were made between 969 and 1517. Placards explain the succession of various dynasties. These include the Fatimids, who claimed descent from Muhammad's daughter Fatima, and the Ayyubids, who came to power in Egypt under Saladin. Saladin then expanded his realm to include Syria and Yemen; I remember seeing his tomb in Damascus. In Egypt, the Ayyubids were ultimately overthrown by the Mamluks, who, as I learn, were not a dynasty at all. Rather, the term "Mamluk" comes from an Arabic word meaning "owned" and was used to describe elite soldiers with slave origins The Mamluks greatly expanded their empire to include Arabia and southern Anatolia. They also became important patrons of mosques, madrasas, and the arts, in part to legitimize their claims to power. 

Today's object is an early 13th century ceramic lantern, perhaps 12 inches high and 4 or 5 inches on a side, from Ayyubid Syria. Painted in a brilliant shade and a darker shade of blue on a white ground, it is distinctive (and unusual) in being shaped like a square, domed building with a curved piece at each corner that strikes me as reminiscent of a minaret. Each side has a cutout; two are flower-shaped, two window-like. I read that the lantern was modeled from slabs, and in truth, it seems to be slightly misshapen, tilting down a bit on one side. Perhaps this imperfection adds to its charm for me.