A Rare Pierced Bronze Mosque Lamp Near East Or Mesopotamia,11th/12th Century




A RARE PIERCED BRONZE MOSQUE LAMP
With bulbous body and flaring mouth, footless, the lamp completely pierced save for the rim, a band around the waisted neck and three small drop-shaped panels strenghtening the body, the decoration with a calligraphic inscription in angular kufic repeating al-mulk lillah (sovereignty is to God) divided by pairs of roundels with triangular motifs, the main register with a lattice of swastikas and four-pointed stars, the mouth with similar alternating motifs, the upper band with rectangular cartouches alternating with stars, a band of stars and polygonal elements around the base, slight variations between the panels, dents, minor loss to the base