For your consideration is an Ancient Islamic Persian Nishapur Ceramic Glazed Oil Lamp, circa 10th-12th century AD, with a beautiful mottled iridescent turquoise glaze. Procured in circa 1970 at the Sistan Basin of southwestern Afghanistan. Provenance: the Owen D. Mort, Jr. Collection. Owen David Mort was an American engineer who amassed an impressive collection throughout his worldwide travels. His collection has included art, artifacts and other historical items from which he has donated to museums at the University of Utah and the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame. Donations also include African, Afghan and Asian artifacts. Nishapur was an important economic center due to its location on a trade route, known as the Silk Road, which extended from China to the Mediterranean Sea. Nishapur produced and traded raw cotton, silk and cotton textiles, turquoise, and earth with healing properties. For more than 5,000 years the Sistan basin has been inhabited by sophisticated cultures and thus contains some key archaeological sites. Kang and Zaranj were major medieval cultural hubs, now covered by sand. Excavations have also revealed a citadel complex, and the remains of a Zoroastrian fire temple. Ram Shahristan (or Abrashariyar) was an ancient capital of Sistan. This Islamic Persian Nishapur style ceramic glazed oil lamp features a pinched top bowl, with its narrow spout for a wick, sits atop a long, thin neck strap handle would have descended from the top to the saucer shaped drip pan. Such lamps were perfect for carrying- the wick was stabilized by the pinched shape, and the drip pan provided a stable base. Nice craquelure, evidence of previous repair, some loss of glaze throughout, fragments missing and chipping observed. Measures 3.25" diameter base, 6.25"H, weight