Overview

Light of Devotion: Oil Lamps of Kerala, an in-depth study of the medieval oil lamps of Kerala and beyond, contributes a new chapter to the history of Indian art. These art objects are primary sources for a broader discussion of the ritual use of Hindu oil lamps, their related and unique cultural history, their motifs, style and subject matter. From an understudied region, they include miniature masterpieces in bronze of figural and mythic representations. Many of the pieces presented are previously unpublished. Hindu traditions and the underlying philosophy of these votive offerings to temple deities represented by the flaming oil lamps will interest those who study history of religions, art history and South Asian studies. The author has included oil lamps found not only in Kerala but also examples discovered in an international array of museums and collections. These lamps and their inscriptions offer a key to unlock the problem of the dating of Keralan bronze sculpture.

Full Product Details

Author:   Carol Radcliffe Bolon (Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution)
Publisher:   Archaeopress
Imprint:   Archaeopress Archaeology
Weight:   0.392kg
ISBN:  

9781803272542

ISBN 10:   1803272546
Pages:   144
Publication Date:   12 May 2022
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures ; Acknowledgements ; Note on names of towns ; Art of Devotion ; Collections ; Festivals ; Bibliography ; Inscriptions ; Dating difficulties ; Classification ; Names of Some Oil Lamps ; Suspension Lamps ; Stationary Lamps ; Portable Lamps ; Suspension Lamps ; Gaja/elephant-shaped lamps ; Archaeological Museum, Dadigama, Sri Lanka, elephant-shaped oil lamp ; CSMVS, Mumbai, elephant-shaped lamp found at Jogeshvari, Maharashtra ; Thrissur State Museum elephant-shaped oil lamp from Thripunithura, Kerala ; Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, elephant-shaped oil lamp ; Vimana vilakku/ Temple model-shaped lamps ; Gaja Lakshmi ; Mythic Depictions ; Non-mythic suspension lamps ; Stationary Lamps ; Mada vilakku/wall niche lamps ; Vriksha vilakku or Tree-shaped lamps ; Kavara vilakku, branching lamp ; Nila or Kuthu vilakku or stambha ; Lakshmi Deepa/Fortune Lamp ; Kindi, ritual water pot lamp ; Portable Lamps ; Arti/prayer ; Changalavatta ; Vanchi vilakku, boat-shaped processional torch ; Extra Parts ; Conclusion ; Characteristics ; South Indian bronze imagery ; Production features of style ; Iconography ; Dynastic arts ; Bibliography ; Index

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Author Information

Carol Radcliffe Bolon is a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. She was Curator for South and Southeast Asian Art at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art and was Professor of South Asian Art and South Asian Studies at the University of Chicago. She is the author of Forms of the Goddess Lajja Gauri (Penn State Press, 1992) and co-editor of The Nature of Frank Lloyd Wright (University of Chicago Press, 1988). She has published extensively on early Chalukya sculpture and the architecture of South India.

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