English: This is a 19th-century Sukunda lamp from Nepal. It is used by Newar people in the Kathmandu valley during rites of passage ceremonies such as birth, marriage and death. They are also used during festivals and religious rituals.
It consists of a pot, a leaf shaped dish projecting in front (diya, deepa) under an image of Ganesha with one or more mice below him. A large handle on the other side is for holding the pot, which sometimes is shaped like a dragon or open head of a Naga. Ganesha is the god of removing obstacles and good beginnings. Naga is an icon of protective forces of nature.
The pot is typically made of brass or silver.
The pot is used to store oil, traditionally mustard or a plant derived oil.
At the start of the ceremony, the oil is ladled out into the leaf shaped projecting dish in front. A wick is added and lit up.
The large oil storage pot is useful in marriage ceremonies when it is lit at groom's house and carried to the bride's place, as well as when the lit lamp is carried back with the bride after the wedding as her husband and she move back to his home. This journey typically requires that more oil be ladled out to the wick.
This is a photograph of an item published in 1888 CE, by Holbein Hendley in The Journal of Indian Art, Volume 2, pp. 18-20. Wikimedia commons PD-Art guidelines apply. Any rights I have, I herewith donate to the public domain through wikimedia commons.
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Captions
A lamp used in social and religious ceremonies by Newar people, Nepal