Though these two lamps burned more than a thousand years apart, their function is virtually the same. In the Holy Land of Biblical times, the lamp was a simple clay dish whose still-wet sides were pinched together to form a slot for the wick. By Islamic times, the lamp form was more sophisticated, molded, covered to avoid spilling, and with a knob handle to make carrying easier. A metaphor for joy and prosperity, for hope, for life itself, lamps have illuminated the path of civilization for centuries. They have guided great thoughts through the night and stood vigil with lonely passions. In the presence of these simple objects, we are in touch directly with vanished worlds, with the rooms and shrines once warmed by their glow, with the people who drew comfort from their light. Today they remain as enduring symbols of man's desire to conquer the darkness.