Two mosque lamps from a palace in Heliopolis - Lot 339

Two mosque lamps from a palace in Heliopolis Enamelled blown glass Egypt, Cairo, Heliopolis, Dated 1911 H. 35 cm - D. 25 cm Provenance : Former Boghos Nubar Pacha Collection (Alexandria, 1851 - Paris, 1930) The base of the body is decorated with circular cartouches featuring lotus flowers, alternating with calligraphic cartouches bearing the inscription Heliopolis / Misr al-jadida and the date 1911. The upper part of the body is embellished with six applied glass suspension rings, and features calligraphic decoration in cobalt highlighted in red. The inscription reads "mimma 'umila / birasmi bayt / boghos / nubar / bi misr / al-jadida", "among those made for the house of Boghos Nubar in Heliopolis". These lamps feature a wide, flared neck with calligraphic decoration, bearing the beginning of the verse known as the Light (Qur'an XXIV, 35). Mosque lamps often feature extracts from this verse, which uses the analogy of a glass lamp representing the believer's heart illuminated by faith. Both lamps come with their original suspension chains. Boghos Nubar, son of Egypt's first Prime Minister Nubar Pasha, was co-developer with Baron Edouard Empain of the Heliopolis (Misr al-jadida) district in Cairo. These pieces perfectly reflect the mentality of Cairo's intellectual circles at the beginning of the 20th century. Under the impetus of the Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe, Egyptians and expatriate foreigners alike developed a strong aesthetic and scientific interest in classical Islamic art, and in particular the art of the Mamluk dynasty. This pair of lamps, clearly inspired by Mamluk mosque lamps in enamelled glass, illustrates this reappropriation of Egypt's glorious past.