- Title
- Oil Lamp with Ganesha
- Date Made
- 19th century
- Medium
- Brass, cast and repoussé; hammered copper
- Dimensions
- 7 3/4 x 9 1/2 x 5 in. (19.69 x 24.13 x 12.7 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.2011.136
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Termed a sukunda, this Nepalese oil lamp is used in Hindu and Buddhist religious ceremonies and social rituals for weddings, birthdays, and death observances. It is adorned with an image of Ganesha, the elephant-headed South Asian lord of obstacles who is traditionally invoked at the beginning of any important activity. Ganesha has a flaming aureola and is mounted over an externally attached burner dish used to contain the oil and a floating wick. The fuel, typically mustard oil, is stored in the vessel body and transferred to the dish with an ornate dispensing laddle usually connected by a chain (now-missing).
The baluster-shaped body with large lotiform fluting is supported by splayed foot. The shoulders have three borders of geometric molding and two rows of smaller lotiform fluting leading to a plain vertical neck below the flared rim decorated with triangular hatching. The curvilinear handle is in the form of a mythical aquatic animal (makara).