Indian Oil Lamp with Cross Motif

A radiating little backplate with a cross at the center, guarding a shallow tray.

This brass oil lamp with cross motif is from Karnataka, South India, and dates to the 20th century. It is brass, copper & alloy. A cross worked into a lamp's cast or pierced detail is a simple symbol that can be formed in metal alloys such as brass and copper. A pointed oval dish with small feet at the tip stands before a tall plate edged with many short rays. At its center a plain cross is flanked by curled scrolls and capped by a pyramidal finial. Mottled brown. It is 3.1 inches wide, 3.8 deep and 3.6 high.

Rays, scrolls, a cross, and a tray, all in one tiny square.