Nepalese Oil Lamp Depicting Dancing Lion

A lion dances at the center, and a lamp balances above his head.

Nepali metalworkers made this oil lamp with a dancing lion in bronze in the 19th century. Lamps are used in Hindu and Buddhist devotion across Nepal and are commonly offered at temples and household shrines. A lion with a raised foot and flaring wing-like ornaments carries a lotus-petaled dish on its head. The base is domed and ringed in layered mouldings. The bronze is a warm, polished brown, darker in the pierced scrollwork.

About 8 inches tall. Not much of a light, perhaps, but a great deal of company.