Magic lamp

A magic lamp is a fictional mystical item that frequently appears in stories dealing with Arabic folklore such as the tale of Aladdin, first presented in One Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights. A magic lamp is an ornate oil lantern that houses the essence and power of a djinn - a supernatural entity of purportedly "phenomenal cosmic power" contained within an "itty-bitt living space". The original magic lamp from the tale of Aladdin worked in connection with a magic ring - both of which contained their own respective genies. Tradition has it that by rubbing or cleaning the lamp, one unleashes the genie, who is then beholden to the user who becomes their master. The master can command the genie to use his power to grant them whatever they wish for. Modern interpretations of stories with magic lamps places the restriction of three wishes per user, though this was not part of the original tale.

In the 1992 Walt Disney Pictures version of Aladdin, the eponymous hero, Aladdin, discovered the magic lamp in the Cave of Wonders near the sultanate of Agrabah. The genie that came from the lamp was a broad-shouldered blue-skinned huckster that granted Aladdin three wishes, with the added restriction that he could not wish for more wishes, he could not command the genie to make someone fall in love with him, he could not have the genie kill for him and that he could not make the genie bring someone back from the dead.

Through the course of the film, Aladdin's nemesis, the evil Jafar took possession of the lamp and eventually became a genie himself, thereby creating his own lamp. Aladdin trapped Jafar inside this second lamp and the genie buried the lamp back inside the Cave of Wonders.

The 1994 direct-to-video sequel, Aladdin: The Return of Jafar, established that by destroying the lamp, one could then destroy the genie. At the conclusion of the film, Jafar's lamp was dropped into a lava fissure, destroying it, and thus destroying Jafar.