Tibetan Market Silver Butter Lamp

Engraved Silver Butter Lamp

This baluster-form butter lamps is of beaten and cast solid silver. Its typical form is reminiscent of the Christian chalice. It would have been used on an altar, filled to the brim with butter oil and with a single floating wick.

The stem comprises sharp lotus petal-like ribs and an engraved longevity vase with four fringes embellished with turquoise cabochons (one defficient) in box settings. The silver sheet on the rim and the base are folded over to give the lamp additional strength.

The foot and stem are engraved with leafy Himalayan flourishes. The outside of the wide bowl is similarly engraved but with the inclusion of three male figures in traditional costume, deers and birds, suggesting that the lamp is Chinese work for the Himalayan market.

The lamp is in excellent condition.

Pal, P.,

Art of the Himalayas: Treasures from Nepal and Tibet, Hudson Hills Press, 1991.

UK art market