Nepalese Oil Lamp Depicting Murugan, Brother of Ganesh

Thirty-eight inches of bronze, all of it leading up to one small god.

This oil lamp depicting Murugan, brother of Ganesh, comes from Nepal and dates to the 20th century. It is bronze. Offering light is central to Hindu worship, and tall standing lamps like this were made for temples and household rituals where a flame honors the deity. A small many-armed figure stands within a pierced arch at the top. Below him hang leaf-shaped pendants from a wide dish, and a serpent winds around the pierced column above a stepped, beaded base. Thirty-eight inches high.

Everything below him exists to hold a flame.