BIJAPUR

The striking hexagonal polished brass lamp shown here is inspired by an early 17th-century bronze lantern from the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur, India, now found in the Bijapur Archeological Museum.

Each of the six panels of the hexagonal body forms large open arches surrounded by openwork foliate patterns with a trefoil ornament at the base of the arch. Silhouetted flanges divide each panel.

The calligraphic panel beneath the arch contains the openwork inscription: 'Well-being and Blessing and Exaltation and Happiness'.

Trefoil crenels crown the hexagonal body, which is surmounted by a classical openwork globular finial, ending in a knop.

The lower dome is of foliate openwork with an opening for a single glass qandil or a spotlight.

LGLS-63