The techniques used are typical of contemporary
Islamic glass, with the enamel decoration applied to a pre-fired plain body, and the whole then fired for a second time. The coloured decoration may include
Qur'anic verses, especially the first part of the
Ayat an-Nur or "Verse of Light" (24:35, see below), inscriptions and heraldic emblems recording the donor, as well as purely decorative motifs. By the 15th century production of all types of fine glass was in steep decline, a sign of which is that in 1569 the
Ottoman Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pacha ordered 600 plain lamps of
Venetian glass, perhaps to be decorated elsewhere. The
Ottomans also made lamps of similar form in
Iznik pottery, and
Shah Abbas I of Persia gave plain silver lamps to hang by the tomb of
Shaykh Safi at
Ardabil;
Persian miniatures show other examples from the 16th century in gold or brass and silver. Such opaque materials were much less effective as lighting, but the purpose of the lamp was symbolic as well as practical, related to the "Verse of Light". Mosque lamps are often shown in profile at the head of a
prayer rug for the same reason. The decoration of the lamps often includes either the name or the symbol from Islamic heraldry of the donor, who usually gave a group of lamps. Other types of lighting in mosques were large metal lamp stands, like very wide candlesticks, which were also used in secular buildings. These could be very intricately decorated. ==Later types==