La transition lychnologique byzantino-arabe en Egypte et au Proche-Orient: lampes coptes et musulmanes de la collection Bouvier

Abstract

The analytical study of 63 unpublished clay lamps allowed us to review all the existing typologies of a crucial period for the Egyptian lamp workshops, i.e. from the late Byzantine times to the Islamic era, paying special attention to the transition types and to the very first Islamic lamps. We discuss here the categories of lamps fitting perfectly the established typologies, as well as the categories for which the existing classifications are not satisfactory. The second aim of the article is to focus on the influence of the Near Eastern production and imports on the Egyptian lamp manufacturers, mainly during the Byzantine-Islamic transition period, which is an important key to understanding lamp types that will often have a very broad expansion, from Maghreb area to all Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea shores, influencing even Byzantine manufacturers.

Keywords

• clay lamps
• byzantine period
• islamic period
• egypt
• near east
• typological overview
• lampes de terre cuite
• époque byzantine
• époque islamique
• egypte
• proche-orient
• analyse typologique