Fragment of chandelier

This wide plate (ring) sitting on a short cylindrical drum forms the base of a chandelier whose upper part has disappeared. It is related to a group of ten or so Moroccan objects dating between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries that still hang in the al-Qarawīyīn Mosque in Fez. Like the contemporary chandelier in the Great Mosque of Taza[1] (Morocco), its upper section was probably fitted with a pyramidal object that supported the oil lamps. It is also likely that its centre was made from a bell that was taken during a battle in Andalusia, as is the case for the other two chandeliers in the al-Qarawīyīn Mosque in Fez[2], one of them being Almohad, and the other slightly later. According to Eva Baer, the origins of these chandeliers lie in the polycandelon, which were disk- or crown-shaped candelabras, onto which were fitted lamps or candles. They existed before Islam, in Visigoth Spain, in the Byzantine Empire, and in Coptic Egypt[3], and their production continued mainly in the Mediterranean regions[4], but also in the Middle East, as can be seen in a twelfth-century Iranian example[5]. 

Divided into six parts by profiled brackets that connect with the drum and the ring, the candelabra is covered with engraved and openwork vegetal foliage, that terminate in palmettes of various shapes. It also bears many inscriptions in cursive characters, on the drum and the supports, whilst Kufic script intertwines with the cylinder’s openwork arabesques. At its base is a small flower-shaped dome that can already be seen, in one of the chandeliers from the al-Qarawīyīn Mosque (c.1333–7). The latter is larger and divided into twelve parts, but has similar openwork foliage decorations to the Fez chandelier. 

Openwork is a frequently employed technique in metalwork, because it allows the light to be diffused from a lamp[6], or the scented smoke from an incense burner. Mosque chandeliers in openwork metal are quite common, and they have sometimes been made in the West[7]. However, the same technique may be applied to other materials, for purely decorative purposes. The dome of the Great Mosque of Taza, from the same era as the chandelier, is an intricate stucco masterpiece on which, similarly, kufic script intertwines with vegetal foliage[8]. An entirely different application of this can be seen in a series of Iranian ceramic double-bodied ewers[9], whose external surfaces are covered with carved openwork foliage.

The standard religious formulas of blessings, like the basmala, and the fabrication date are in cursive script, while the eulogy, ‘total joy’ is written in kufic script. This angular calligraphy can often be seen in Andalusia, where it was employed from the beginning of the Spanish Umayyad era (756–1031) on the tiraz, cloth produced by the Caliph’s workshop’s that were often marked with a calligraphic band, or around the mihrab of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba. Kufic script is also used in much of the Islamic world—Egypt, the Iranian world, and so on—with many variations, and it is also evident on objets d’art[10] and European paintings representing oriental fabrics and carpets[11].

Like the mosque lamps, the Fez chandelier illustrates the importance of lighting in places of worship. As in the Christian world, light doesn’t only have a practical role, but also a symbolic one, which is related to the surat (form) ‘of the Light’ (Koran 34: 35).

[1] Chandelier, Morocco, Taza, Grand Mosque, 1294, bronze, in situ.

[2] Chandeliers, Morocco, Fez, Qarawīyīn Mosque, end of the 13th to the beginning of the 14th century. /1333–7, in situ.

[3] Chandelier, Egypt, Byzantine era, copper alloy, Paris, musée du Louvre, E 11916 (3).

[4] Chandelier, Spain, 14–15 centuries, bronze, Granada, archaeological museum.

[5] Polycandelon, Iran, twelfth century, bronze inlaid with copper and silver, Baltimore, Courtesy Walters Art Gallery, 54.2363.

[6] Mosque chandelier, from Syria or Palestine, 13th century, copper alloy, Paris, musée du Louvre, OA 6007.

[7] Venetian lamp, 2nd half of the 15th century, Baltimore, Walters Art Museum, 54.259.

[8] This design already existed in the Great Mosque of Tlemcen, dating from 1136.

[9] Ewer with rooster head, Iran, 13th century, Paris, musée du Louvre, department of Islamic arts, MAO 442.

[10] Master Alpais' ciborium Alpais, Limoges, c. 1200, enamel on copper, Paris, musée du Louvre, MRR 98.