Nepalese Candle Holder with Pierced Work

A small dragon coils around the stem and peers out from the openwork, keeping an eye on the flame.

This candle holder with pierced work comes from the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, and is contemporary. It is brass. Newar metalworkers of the Kathmandu Valley have been known for centuries for cast and pierced brass, made for temples and households alike. The holder rises from a broad beaded foot through a bell-shaped base and a tapering shaft, each pierced all over with rows of small petal shapes. At the top, a petal-edged drip pan carries a ring of dangling openwork pendants beneath a plain cup. It is 21.5 inches high and 11 in diameter.

Light a candle and the whole thing becomes lace.