Indian Brass Oil Lamp

A narrow, stepped column with a flared foot and a thin peg at the very top.

This brass oil lamp is from Southern India, and dates to the 20th century. Many South Indian lamps are cast in brass by the lost-wax method and finished by hand, a technique with a long history in the region. A slender vessel with a wide round base, a long tapered waist, and ringed moldings rising to a little shoulder and a spike. The surface is a mellow golden brown with soft, rubbed highlights and dark patches. It is 7.25 inches high and 3.25 in diameter.

Tall, slim, and mostly made of tidy rings.