tour 3 of 35
Arabic Script: Mightier than the Sword
Ceramic mosque lamp
This lamp was made at the potteries of Iznik in
Turkey. The inscriptions in cartouches include on the base the
words 'Allah, Muhammad, Ali', referring to God, the
Prophet Muhammad and Ali ibn Abi Talib (died AD 661). Ali was the
cousin of the Prophet and married his daughter Fatima. He was the
fourth of the 'Orthodox
caliphs',
the Prophet's closest companions who succeeded him as
leaders of the Muslim community on his death. He was also the first
of the Shi'a Imams and thus is revered by the Sunni and
Shi'a branches of
Islam.
Mosque lamps such as
this served a symbolic rather than a practical purpose. They hung
from the ceiling by chains and their shape was based on earlier
glass examples from Mamluk Egypt (1250-1517) which provided light
by means of a wick placed in a container of oil within the lamp.
The association between God and light in Islam is emphasized by
this verse from the Qur'an's 'Chapter of
Light' sometimes inscribed on mosque
lamps:
'God is the
Light of the heavens and the earth;
the
likeness of his light is as a
wick-holder
Wherein is a
light
(the light in a
glass,
the glass as it were a glittering
star)
kindled from a blessed tree'
(Qur'an 24:
35-6)
The decorations and
blue-and-white colour scheme were influenced by Chinese porcelain,
which was popular at the Ottoman court ruling Turkey at this
time.