Indian Brass Oil Lamp

A potbellied little urn with a shoulder lid and a finial like a tiny spire.

This brass oil lamp is from Southern India, and dates to the 20th century. Brass oil lamps are central to Hindu household and temple worship in southern India, where lighting a lamp is a customary part of daily ritual. A rounded jar with a wide flared foot narrows to a waist, swells into a lidded body, and ends in a stepped neck and short peg. Fine rings circle the shoulder. The finish is greenish brown, softly dulled with handling. It is 6 inches high and 3 in diameter.

Round in the middle, ambitious at the top.