Oil lamp on high stand. Islamic art, 11th-13th centuries, ca. 1000-1200 AD.

Oil lamp on high stand. Islamic art, 11th-13th centuries, ca. 1000-1200 AD.
Cast brass alloy, engraved and fretworked.
Provenance: owned by an Oxfordshire art professional; formerly in a former Canadian collection, formed in the 1990s.
Verified on the Art Loss Register database; delivered with letter of confirmation.
Measurements: 70 x 24 cm. Weight: 3.3 kg.

Islamic oil lamp in brass alloy, arranged on an architectural support of great ornamental richness. The piece rises from an openwork vaulted base, towards a shaft of vertical development with bulbous bodies and a long cylindrical section decorated with perforated panels of geometric and vegetal character.

At the top, a drip tray with a gallery in relief supports the lamp, with a projecting spout and a hinged lid. The whole is enriched with an engraved epigraphic band, medallions, applied handles and figurative finials, including a small bird and a motif in the form of an elephant crowning the rear handle.

The piece responds to a typology of great refinement within medieval Islamic metalwork, where the luminous function is combined with a complex decorative and symbolic dimension. The combination of openwork, inscriptions, geometric motifs, vegetal elements and zoomorphic details gives the object a ceremonial presence, conceived both to illuminate and to manifest prestige, devotion and technical sophistication.

Because of its monumental structure, its meticulous brass work and its iconographic richness, this lamp is a remarkable example of the metal arts in the medieval Islamic world, comparable to pieces of high metalwork preserved in specialized collections and appearing in international auctions of Islamic and Indian art.