Brass Candlestick

Made from a single sheet of beaten brass, this candlestick is decorated with a reversible design of continuous trefoil arches. Decorated in the repoussé technique - meaning, hammered out - the pattern can be viewed from upside down. Such designs are normally found on earlier Islamic art, as in 3rd century AH/9th century CE Iraqi stuccowork. However, the use of trefoil arches can be found in the niches of mihrabs and doorways in Mosul, in northern Iraq, during the 6th and 7th centuries AH/12th and 13th centuries CE, as well as other metalwork from Syria and the Jazira region. The striking simplicity of this candlestick is unusual, as the preference for metal ware decoration at the time was to be sumptuously inlaid with silver, copper or gold. Nonetheless, its shape and size reflect a common form of candlesticks made throughout the mediaeval Islamic world.