Indian Oil Lamp with Lakshmi Motif

Half gold, half green, and wearing both colors with confidence.

This brass, copper and alloy oil lamp with a Lakshmi motif is from Karnataka, South India, and dates to the early 20th century. Karnataka has a long tradition of cast metal ritual objects, and lamps there are made in shapes that range from simple dishes to tall hanging forms. In the photo, a radiating arch rises behind a round bowl, with a faint seated figure at its center. One arm reaches out on the left. The surface is mottled with blue green deposits and orange brown patina, and the lower edge looks dented and uneven. It is 3.5 inches wide, 3.75 deep and 5.5 high.

Rumpled but regal, as small thrones tend to be.