A lamp such as this might have lit homes during the early flowering of Islam. A metaphor for joy and prosperity, for hope, for life itself, lamps have illumninated the path of civilization for centuries. They have guided great thoughts through the night, stood vigil with lonely passions. In the presence of this simple object, we are in touch directly with a vanished world, with the people once warmed by its glow. Today it remains as an enduring symbol of man's desire to conquer the darkness.