August: Object of the Month

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Our mosque lamp, found in the Arts of the Near East Gallery (No.33), is August's Object of the Month.

This spectacular mosque lamp is the finest piece of Middle Eastern glass in the Museum's collection. Copper chains would have been looped through the six protruding 'lugs' in order to hang it from the ceiling of the mosque, whilst a metal oil lamp fitting would have been placed inside. The upper inscription around the neck is a famous passage from the Qur'an known as the 'Verse of Light' (24:35), declaring God to be the light of the earth, and comparing the likeness of that light to a lamp in a niche.