A Gilded and Enamelled Glass Mosque Lamp, made for Abbas Hilmi Pasha (1874-1944), dated A.H. 1328/ A.D. 1910

of characteristic form with angled rounded body and wide flaring mouth on a short foot, the body with six applied lug handles, two wide inscriptive bands around the neck and base in blue enamel with gilded ebellishment, the lower inscription interspersed with three roundels giving the name of 'Abbas Helmi in red enamel, the body with floral cartouches between the handles in blue enamel above a cloud band of gilded dots

In good overall condition, some rubbing to the gilding, as viewed.
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inscriptions
Qur'an, surah al-Nur (XXIV) 
Izza al-Moulana al-Khadic Abbas Hilmi al-Thani, Allah Damma Ayyamuho
'Glory to our Lord, the Khediv 'Abbas Hilmi the Second, may God make his time everlasting'

'Abbas Hilmi II (1874-1944), the great great grandson of Muhammad 'Ali Pasha ('The Father of Egypt'), was the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan.

Having been raised to the Khedivate at a very young age, 'Abbas was eager to exercise his new power. Affected by the British Army's occupation of Egypt in 1882, he found it difficult to work together with the Consul General in Cairo, Sir Evelyn Baring (later to become Lord Cromer) and the two continued to cause problems within their work. Over time however, Khedive 'Abbas accepted the British Counsels, even revisiting England, during which he acknowledged the effort of the British in Egypt and accepted to follow their advice on Egyptian and Sudanese affairs.

When the Ottoman Empire became involved in World War I, the United Kingdom declared Egypt an independent sultanate under British protectorate on 18 December, 1914. The following day Khedive 'Abbas was removed from his rank though he continued to support the Ottomans in the war and even assisted in leading an attack on the Suez Canal. After obstructions from his uncles, 'Abbas was under restrictive orders and contributions were completely refused from him until he was barred from entering Egyptian territories and prevented from suing in Egyptian courts. He and his family eventually conceded and retired to Geneva in 1931.

The present mosque lamp, which bears 'Abbas Helmi's name, belongs to a group of such pieces most probably commissioned for a particular patron or institution. A similar piece of slightly differing colours is known in a private collection, whilst an almost identical, though quite damaged, lamp was sold at Christie's 31 March 2009, as lot 165.

It is possible that this mosque lamp was one that was made for the Mosque of Al-Rifa'i. The construction of the mosque began in 1869 but came to a halt in 1880 at the abdication of Khedive Isma'il. Khedive 'Abbas reinstated production on the mosque in 1905 and gave the task to Max Herz Bey, the Hungarian architect in charge of the Committee for the Conservation of Arab Monuments in Cairo, who was already famed for restoring many Islamic monuments in Cairo. The mosque was then completed in 1912, two years after the dating of this lamp.