Engraved Lamp Stand with a Cylindrical Body

Lampstand

Metal lampstands of the Safavid period have a distinctive form, consisting of a cylindrical body, flared lip, and wide base. This example follows that silhouette, and its decorative repertoire matches others of its kind.[1] It features rhythmic vegetal scrolls on the body, bands of poetry at the top and around the trunk, and an inscription in Armenian (whose inclusion on such objects is quite unusual) on the narrow raised ring toward the bottom. The inscription can be translated as "The son of Vardan son of Askandar Dominical HAKOB [year hijra] 1027 [A.D. 1618–19]."[2] We cannot be certain if the name in the inscription is that of the maker or the owner of the lampstand. However, given the date, it is more likely the name of its proud Armenian Christian owner and the date he acquired it. Its presence here reflects the popular and fluid taste for fine engraved and inlaid metal objects with Persian poetic verses across ethnic and religious boundaries during this period.

Like others of its type, the lampstand bears mystical verses, here a variation of "The Moth and the Candle," from the Bustan (Orchard) by the thirteenth-century poet Sa‘di.[3] In this Sufi allegory, the moth (the believer) is spellbound by the light of the beloved (God), in the same way that the human soul, drawn passionately to the divine light, longs to be reunited with its Maker. Many of these lampstands were used in secular settings, but several have been linked to Shi‘i shrines in Iran, which today have similar examples among their holdings.[4] While such objects were deemed appropriate as gifts to religious institutions, this example indicates their use in communities beyond the Shi‘i Muslim sphere.




Maryam Ekhtiar in [Higgins Harvey 2021]


Footnotes:

1. Denise-Marie Teece in Ekhtiar, Maryam, Priscilla Soucek, Sheila R. Canby, and Navina Najat Haidar, eds. Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2011, pp. 237–39, nos. 163, 164.

2. Translation of the Armenian inscription by Raisa Amirbekian.

3. "I remember one night as my eyes would not sleep, I heard the moth saying to the candle: ‘Because I am a lover, if I shall burn, so be it. [But,] why should you weep and burn yourself up? To holy men thy countenance is light and seeing it is my light. Like a lover, I see light only when I am with thee. You are the purpose of this world; without thee it is nothing.’" Translation based on Melikian-Chirvani, A.S., Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World. London 1982, p. 309, no. 137.

4. Teece in Ekhtiar et al. 2011, p. 238 (see note 1).


Candlestick

Candlesticks, alternatively identified as torch-stands, in the shape of a pillar appear for the first time in the middle of the sixteenth century in Safavid Persia. Made of cast brass, the majority have a polygonal shaft which gives them a strong architectural presence.

In this example the surface of the object i divided by mouldings into three broad sections. Each unit is decorated with bands of tendrils and floral and vegetal motifs in a densely intertwined design. The background is delicately hatched and filled with black mastic. Persian inscriptions in cartouches grace the upper and middle portions of the shaft. The overall decoration on this candlestick resembles those in contemporary bookbinding and illumination indicating the bookmakers' workshops as a probable source for designs to be used by the metalworkers.


The inscriptions, taken from the poem "The Moth and the Candle" have mystical overtones: "I remember a glance of your eye. I have heard that the moth said to the candle: I love you and if I shall be burned, so be it. My tears and burning give you pleasure. To holy men thy face is light and seeing thy face is my light. Like men of heart I see my light only when near thee. Thou art the aim of the world; without thee it is nothing." The poem is a metaphor for the yearning of the mystic for God and his willingness to be subsumed in his quest.

Sussan Babaie in [Walker et al. 1994]

Inscription: The Persian inscriptions, taken from the poem "The Moth and the Candle" have mystical overtones.
Translation: I remember a glance of your eye. I have heard that the moth said to the candle: I love you and if I shall be burned, so be it. My tears and burning give you pleasure. To holy men thy face is light and seeing thy face is my light. Like men of heart I see my light only when near thee. Thou art the aim of the world; without thee it is nothing.

On top in nasta’liq script a poem by Sa’di:
شبي یاد دارم که چشمم نخفت شنیدم که پروانه با شمع گفت
که من عاشقم گر بسوزم رواست ترا گریه و سوز باري چراست

Middle register in nasta’liq script:
چراغ اهل دل را روشن از روي تو می بینیم همه صاحب دلان را روي دل سوي تو می بینم
توئي مقصود عالم کم مبادا از سرت موئي
Below there are a few words in Armenian

A.Ghouchani, 2012

Edward C. Moore (American), New York (until d. 1891; bequeathed to MMA)

Mexico City. Colegio de San Ildefonso. "Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York," September 30, 1994–January 8, 1995, no. 86.

Migeon, Gaston. "Les Arts Plastiques et Industriels." In Manuel d'Art Musulman. vol. 2. Paris: Alphonse Picard et Fils, 1907. p. 207, ill. fig. 176.

Blair, Sheila S., and Jonathan M. Bloom. The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250–1800. Yale University Press Pelican History of art. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1994. p. 178, ill. pl. 221 (b/w); citation for dates has been changed since book was published.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daniel S. Walker, Arturo Ponce Guadián, Sussan Babaie, Stefano Carboni, Aimee Froom, Marie Lukens Swietochowski, Tomoko Masuya, Annie Christine Daskalakis-Matthews, Abdallah Kahli, and Rochelle Kessler. "Colegio de San Ildefonso, Septiembre de 1994–Enero de 1995." In Arte Islámico del Museo Metropolitano de Arte de Nueva York. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 1994. no. 86, pp. 216–17, ill. (b/w).

Beyazit, Deniz, Maryam Ekhtiar, and Sheila R. Canby. Collecting Inspiration : Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co., edited by Medill Higgins Harvey. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021. no. 115, p. 180, ill.