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Fragment of a Mosque Lamp
mid 14th century
Unknown
Enamel and gilding on brownish glass
This fragmentary, 14th century mosque lamp bears an inscription from the Qur'an. The words are formed from enameled letters decorating its flare and rim. They are taken from Sura 9, verse 18, celebrating the true believer's all encompassing commitment to God.
The Qu'ran sanctioned mosque lamps in one of its most famous passages (Sura 24, verse 25):
God is the light of the heavens and the earth.
The parable of His light is as if there were a niche,
And within it a lamp, the lamp inside a glass,
The Glass like a brilliant star
Lit from a blessed tree, an olive from neither East nor West,
Whose oil is almost luminous though scarcely touched by fire...
The Qu'ran sanctioned mosque lamps in one of its most famous passages (Sura 24, verse 25):
God is the light of the heavens and the earth.
The parable of His light is as if there were a niche,
And within it a lamp, the lamp inside a glass,
The Glass like a brilliant star
Lit from a blessed tree, an olive from neither East nor West,
Whose oil is almost luminous though scarcely touched by fire...
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