Barakat Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Artworks
  • Exhibitions
  • About
  • Contact
Menu
  • Menu

The Barakat Collection

Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Bronze oil Lamp and stand., 12th Century CE - 13th Century CE

Bronze oil Lamp and stand., 12th Century CE - 13th Century CE

Bronze
8.66 x 17.5
JB.1078
Enquire
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EBronze%20oil%20Lamp%20and%20stand.%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E12th%20Century%20CE%20%20-%20%2013th%20Century%20CE%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EBronze%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E8.66%20x%2017.5%3C/div%3E
The idea of Central Asia as a distinct region is a fairly modern concept which materialised, in paper, only in 1843 when the famous geographer Alexander von Homboldt published in...
Read more
The idea of Central Asia as a distinct region is a fairly modern concept which materialised, in paper, only in 1843 when the famous geographer Alexander von Homboldt published in Paris a three-volumed work in which he treated Central Asia as a separate region on account of its interior drainage system and surrounding mountain chains. During pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Central Asia was a region that today corresponds to Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The political panorama of Central Asia was defined by great power transfers and power was divided between several semi-autonomous states. Territorial expansion and a constantly growing trade brought Muslim lands into contact with other cultures, influencing the arts and the evolution of distinct artistic regional vocabularies. In technique, as well as, in form and decoration, early Islamic lamps perpetuate the earlier Byzantine tradition. The geometric registers were also appropriated from Late Antique and Byzantine prototypes. The roundels and the rappresentation of animals mimic Sassanian metalwork. Elements of Persian architecture – the arch and vault – can also be seen at the base. Calligraphy was considered the noblest of visual art forms lending to a desire to ornament everyday objects with inscriptions. Here, the abstraction of the characters to an unintelligible level favours a tendency for abstraction that serves both an aesthetic and practical purpose in the filling of space. decoration consists of pseudo-Kufic inscriptions over whole, decorative and zoomorphic roundel, registers and geometric bands. In a culture where men and women sat on the floor, lamps had to be raised above floor level to be effective. Lampstand with engraved decoration, composted of base, shaft and collared top tray. Six-lobed rosette-shaped base with zoomorphic terminals, resting on three paw-shaped feet; shaft composed of four baluster-shaped elements; top round tray with low side walls and slanting, decorated by epigraphic cartouches interrupted by roundels. Lamp with splayed polygonal foot; ring handle with bird on topl. The figure of a bird is also used as handle for the lid. In a culture where men and women sat on the ground, lamps had to be raised above floor level to be effective. This oil-lamp would have taken its place amongst an impressive retinue of everyday objects, likely within a private residence, given the prohibition of figural art in Mosques. The lamp would have been filled with oil – fish, animal or olive- through the covered pouring hole on the top and a woven, fibrous wick would have been placed past the hole of the nozzle and lit to burn through the oil. Khorasan 12th-13th century.
Close full details
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Previous
|
Next
21058 
of  28197

London

48 Albemarle Street,

London, W1S 4JW

info@barakatgallery.eu 

 

       


 

CONTACT | TEAM | PRESS 

 

Seoul
58-4, Samcheong-ro,
Jongno-gu, Seoul
+82 02 730 1949
barakat@barakat.kr
             

 

Los Angeles

941 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90069
+1 310 859 8408

contact@barakatgallery.com

  


 

 

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Send an email
View on Google Maps
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Barakat Gallery
Site by Artlogic


Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Sign Up

* denotes required fields