Light of Devotion: Oil Lamps of Kerala 9781803272542, 9781803272559, 1803272546

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Light of Devotion Oil Lamps of Kerala

Carol Radcliffe Bolon

KARNATAKA

Arabian Sea

KERALA

Thripunithura Thrissur Kochi

TAMIL NADU

Thiruvananthapuram

Light of Devotion Oil Lamps of Kerala

Carol Radcliffe Bolon

Archaeopress Archaeology

Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Summertown Pavilion 18-24 Middle Way Summertown Oxford OX2 7LG www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978-1-80327-254-2 ISBN 978-1-80327-255-9 (e-Pdf) © Carol Radcliffe Bolon and Archaeopress 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com

Contents List of Figures���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� iii Acknowledgements������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ix Note on names of towns������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� x Art of Devotion����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������1 Collections�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5 Festivals�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6 Bibliography���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������7 Inscriptions�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9 Dating difficulties����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������15 Classification����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������19 Names of Some Oil Lamps��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20 Suspension Lamps���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20 Stationary Lamps�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20 Portable Lamps���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21 Suspension Lamps���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������23 Gaja/elephant-shaped lamps����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������23 Archaeological Museum, Dadigama, Sri Lanka, elephant-shaped oil lamp����������������������������������23 CSMVS, Mumbai, elephant-shaped lamp found at Jogeshvari, Maharashtra������������������������������27 Thrissur State Museum elephant-shaped oil lamp from Thripunithura, Kerala������������������������28 Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, elephant-shaped oil lamp�������������������������������32 Vimana vilakku/ Temple model-shaped lamps ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������33 Gaja Lakshmi ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������39 Mythic Depictions����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������45 Non-mythic suspension lamps������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������58 Stationary Lamps����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������64 Mada vilakku/wall niche lamps�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������64 Vriksha vilakku or Tree-shaped lamps�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������64 Kavara vilakku, branching lamp������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������76 Nila or Kuthu vilakku or stambha��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������78 Lakshmi Deepa/Fortune Lamp��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������82 Kindi, ritual water pot lamp������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������88 Portable Lamps��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������90 Arti/prayer����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������90 Changalavatta ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������96 Vanchi vilakku, boat-shaped processional torch������������������������������������������������������������������������������100 Extra Parts�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������105 Conclusion�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������113 Characteristics �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������114 South Indian bronze imagery������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������115 i

Production features of style���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������117 Iconography������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������119 Dynastic arts�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������121 Bibliography���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 124 Index���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 128

ii

List of Figures and Tables Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Figure 4. Figure 5.

Figure 6. Figure 7. Figure 8. Figure 9. Figure 10. Figure 11. Figure 12. Figure 13. Figure 14. Figure 15. Figure 16. Figure 17. Figure 18. Figure 19. Figure 20. Figure 21. Figure 22. Figure 23. Figure 24. Figure 25.

Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, Kerala, c. 12th century, 6.5 inches, Collection of the late Dinesan Natesan, Bengaluru����������������������������������������������������������������3 Oil lamp, Egypt, Mamluk period, c. 1360, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. F1957.19��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4 Wall of lamps, Mahadeva temple, Ettumanar, Kerala, ����������������������������������������7 Metal shop employee inscribing a new kindi, Mannar, Kerala������������������������12 Tree--shaped lamp, inscribed 1555, Denver Museum of Art, Colorado, height 25 inches, diameter 15 in, Gift in Life Trust from Mrs. Irene Littledale Downs in memory of William H. Downs, acc. no. 1964.8A-E. Photo Courtesy Denver Art Museum�������������������������������������������������������������������13 cleaning disassembled oil lamp����������������������������������������������������������������������������17 Shasta riding his elephant vehicle, Chola, Government Museum Chennai,��24 Pooram festival, Kerala������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������25 Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp, Dadigama, Sri Lanka, c. 1100-1150, Archaeological Museum, Dadigama, acc. no. 2.12����������������������������������������������25 hydrostatic oil release��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������26 Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp with chain figures, Jogeshvari, c. 1100-1150, CSMVS, acc. no. B84. Courtesy of the Trustees of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya�����������������������������������������������28 Chain detail figure 11���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������28 Chain figures detail figure 11��������������������������������������������������������������������������������29 Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/3, Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������������������������������29 Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/4, Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������������������������������30 Temple elephant with caparison jewelry and kolam, Kerala���������������������������31 Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp with Shiva, Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������32 Temple-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/34, Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������������������������������34 Arjuna and Shiva hunting a boar, detail of Figure 18 ���������������������������������������35 Temple-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/2, Department of Archaeology, Kerala ��������������������������������������������������������������������36 Temple-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/1, Department of Archaeology, Kerala �������������������������������������������������������������������38 Deity in sanctum, detail of Figure 21, Thrissur State Museum 10/1 Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������������������������������38 Vadakunathan Shiva temple, Thrissur, Kerala���������������������������������������������������39 Temple-shaped suspension oil lamp, Nepal, 19th century, Courtesy of the Trustees of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya, 22.2316, 21.75 by 13.5 inches, Sir Ratan Tata Art Collection��������������������������������������������40 Gaja Lakshmi suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/36 (reverse of Figure 26), Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������41 iii

Figure 26. Figure 27. Figure 28. Figure 29. Figure 30. Figure 31. Figure 32. Figure 33. Figure 34. Figure 35. Figure 36. Figure 37. Figure 38.

Figure 39. Figure 40. Figure 41. Figure 42. Figure 43. Figure 45. Figure 44. Figure 46. Figure 47. Figure 48.

Shiva Kudumban suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/36 (reverse of Figure 25), Department of Archaeology, Kerala�����������������������������41 Krishna Fluting, suspension oil lamp, British Museum 1880.4063, (reverse of Figure 28), height 12.5 inches by diameter 10.75, Gift of Richard Payne Knight in 1824, Photo courtesy British Museum�����������������������������������������������42 Gaja Lakshmi, suspension oil lamp, British Museum 1880.4063 (reverse of Figure 27), Photo courtesy British Museum�������������������������������������������������������42 Gaja Lakshmi, part of a suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 12/12 (reverse of Figure 30), Department of Archaeology, Kerala�����������������������������43 Processional scene, part of a suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 12/12 (reverse of Figure 29), Department of Archaeology, Kerala������������������43 Gaja Lakshmi suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/5 (reverse of Figure 32), Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������44 Foliate design on suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/5 (reverse of Figure 31), Department of Archaeology, Kerala�����������������������������44 Gaja Lakshmi suspension oil lamp, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 322 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������45 Gaja Lakshmi suspension oil lamp, c.14th century, height 15 inches, Natesan Collection, Mumbai ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������46 Padmanabhaswamy suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/35, Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������������������������������47 Foliate design on reverse, Thrissur State Museum 10/35 (reverse of Figure 35), Department of Archaeology, Kerala��������������������������������������������������������������47 Postcard of Padmanabha in Padmanabhaswamy temple sanctum, Thiruvananthapuram, length 18 feet������������������������������������������������������������������48 Padmanabha suspension oil lamp, Honolulu Museum of Art, 14th century, height 15.25 inches, diameter 12 inches, Gift of Christensen Fund, 2001 (10773.1) (reverse of Figure 39) Photo courtesy Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawaii����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������49 Vishnu on Garuda, suspension oil lamp, Honolulu Museum of Art (reverse of 38)����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������49 Padmanabha carved on wood temple part, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������51 Procession scene carved on wood temple part, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������53 Shri Poornathrayesa, temple base stone relief figure of Shri Poornathrayesa ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������54 Padmanabhaswamy, suspension oil lamp, British Museum 1880.1610 (reverse of Figure 45), Photo courtesy of British Museum�������������������������������55 Rama suspension oil lamp, British Museum 1880.1610 (reverse of Figure 43), Photo courtesy British Museum��������������������������������������������������������������������55 Bhudevi, c. 14th century, height 10 5/8 inches, Bhansali collection, New Orleans�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������56 Mounted horse suspension oil lamp, Padmanabhapuram Palace, Thiruvananthapuram, 18th century��������������������������������������������������������������������58 Horse head suspension oil lamp, 19th century, Dakshina Chitra, Chennai���59 Kuthu on staff in procession, Photo courtesy of Pepita Seth���������������������������59 iv

Figure 50.

Mythical parrot suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/16, Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������������������������������60 Figure 49. Female acrobat suspension oil lamp, 11 inches, 18th century, Karnataka, Kelkar Museum, Pune���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������60 Figure 51. Lotus suspension oil lamp, height 12.5 inches, Thrissur State Museum 10/11, Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������������������61 Figure 52. (Detail of Figure 51), Thrissur State Museum 10/11 with inscription, Department of Archaeology, Kerala ��������������������������������������������������������������������61 Figure 53. Ladies procession with suspension oil lamps, Photo courtesy Pepita Seth���62 Figures 54-57. Wall niche lamps, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai �����������������������������������65 Figures 58-59. Wall niche lamps, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai �����������������������������������66 Figure 60. Wall niche lamp, Dakshina Chitra, Chennai��������������������������������������������������������66 Figures 61. Wooden lamp stands for mada, Dakshina Chitra and Vijayaraghavan collections, Chennai�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������66 Figures 62. Wooden lamp stands for mada, Dakshina Chitra and Vijayaraghavan collections, Chennai�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������67 Figure 63. Tree-shaped oil lamp, Shiva temple, Ernaculum, Photo courtesy Srikumar M. Menon������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������67 Figure 64. Deepastambha, 16th century, Mahadeva temple, Ettumanar��������������������������68 Figure 66. Flagstaff collar detail including Krishna Venugopala and 21 other gods in relief, 15th century, height 5 inches, diameter 13.75 inches, British Museum 1880.1609 Payne Knight Collection, Photo courtesy British Museum��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������68 Figure 65. Dharmavijayastambha, Mangalore, Karnataka �������������������������������������������������68 Figure 67. Deepastambha, Thrissur State Museum, acc. no. 10/33, Department of Archaeology, Kerala �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������69 Figure 68. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp, Sri Mahadeva temple, Sreekovil, Vaikom, Kerala, height 5-6 feet, now retired. �������������������������������������������������������������������69 Figure 69. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp, 13th century, Kerala, height 53 inches width 31 inches Honolulu Museum of Art, HI, Gift of Christensen Fund 2001, acc no. 106.46.1, Photo Shuzo Uemoto�����������������������������������������������������������������������71 Figure 70. Krishna fluting, (detail of top portion of Figure 69)������������������������������������������71 Figure 71. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp, 14th century, Kerala, height 45.5 in, width 31 inches, Collection of the late Mahadevan Natesan, Bengaluru. ����������������72 Figure 72. Gopis at base, (detail of Figure 71)�����������������������������������������������������������������������72 Figure 73. Peacock tree-shaped ground oil lamp, height 37.4 inches, Thrissur State Museum, 10/18, Department of Archaeology, Kerala����������������������������������������74 Figure 74. Peacock tree-shaped oil lamp, height 48 inches, c. 17-18th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/17, Department of Archaeology, Kerala��������������74 Figure 75. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp, height 4-5 feet, missing crowning element, Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram������������������������������������������������75 Figure 76. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp in temple, Kavara vilakku.���������������������������������75 Figure 77. Branching oil lamp, height 37 inches, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram 110A�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������76 Figure 78. Branching oil lamp, Kumaranallur temple, Kerala, 15th century, height 44 inches, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2005.75, Friends of Indian Art and Oak Lodge Foundation in memory of Barbara Hunt, and the Kathleen v

Boone Samuels Memorial Fund, Photo courtesy VMA, photo by Katherine Wetzel�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������76 Figure 79. Figures on shaft (details of Figure 78)�����������������������������������������������������������������77 Figure 80. Branching oil lamp, height about 5 feet, 16th century, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������77 Figure 81. Branching oil lamp, inscribed on base, 17th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/11, Department of Archaeology, Kerala�����������������������������������������78 Figure 82. Ground oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum, Department of Archaeology, Kerala������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������78 Figure 83. Ground oil lamp, 36.75 inches, Thrissur State Museum 10/24, Department of Archaeology, Kerala��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������79 Figure 84. Ground oil lamp, c. 17th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/20, Department of Archaeology, Kerala���������������������������������������������������������������������79 Figure 85. Ground oil lamp, height 33 inches, c. 17th- 18th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/27, Department of Archaeology, Kerala�����������������������������������������80 Figure 86. Ground oil lamp with rooster-like crowing element, height 39 inches, c. 18th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/19 Department of Archaeology, Kerala.�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������80 Figure 87. Ground oil lamp with peahen crowning element, Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������81 Figure 88. Ground oil lamp with doves crowning element, Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������81 Figure 89. Ground oil lamp with swan, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai������������������82 Figure 90. Female figural oil lamp, Doll, c. 17th century, height 11 inches, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, acc. no. 574, open access photo������������������82 Figures 91-92. Female figural oil lamp of a donor couple, 17th century Nayak period, Karnataka, height 86.4 inches, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C. S 2000.9.1, Photo courtesy Sackler Gallery, and details.����������������������������83 Figure 93. Female figural oil lamp, c. 16th century, height 23.5 inches, Crafts Museum, New Delhi, 7/2134 ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������84 Figure 94. Female figural oil lamp, c. 16th century, height 23.5 inches, Crafts Museum, New Delhi, 7/2134, detail of 93.����������������������������������������������������������������������������84 Figure 95. Female figural oil lamp, height 11 inches, 17th century Nayak period, height 11 inches, Karnataka, Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, MO, 35309�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������85 Figure 96. Female figural oil lamp, lower part, Thrissur State Museum, Department of Archaeology, Kerala��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������86 Figure 97. Female figural oil lamp, silver with partial gilding, 1850-1890, Karnataka, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, From the Collection of William K. Ehrenfeld, M.D., 2005.64.180.a-b. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Size: H. 14 1/2 in x W. 4 1/2����������������������������������������������������������������86 Figure 98. Kindi oil lamp, Napier Museum, acc. no. 112, H. 15 ¾, W. 4 1/3 inches����������87 Figure 99. Kindi, Radeesh Shetty collection, Bengaluru ����������������������������������������������������87 Figure 100. Kindi, 19th century, Portuguese oil lamp, Ebay�������������������������������������������������88 Figure 101. Kindi, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai���������������������������������������������������������88 Figure 102. Nagathiri, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, 164 �����������������������������������90 Figure 103. Pidi, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, #576�������������������������������������������91 vi

Figure 104.

Lady, Karnataka, height 4 inches, length 14.5 inches, Shankaranand Natesan collection, Bengaluru������������������������������������������������������������������������������92 Figure 105. Lion/man, Shankaranand Natesan collection, Bengaluru�������������������������������92 Figure 106. Cambodian lotus arti����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������93 Figure 107. Tree arti, Thrissur State Museum 13/11, Department of Archaeology, Kerala������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������93 Figure 108. Arti, drawing from Illustrations of Metal Work in Brass and Copper, Figure 144�94 Figure 109. Arti in ritual use, Meenakshi temple, Madurai��������������������������������������������������95 Figure 110. Changalavatta in ritual temple procession, Photo courtesy of Pepita Seth����95 Figure 111. Changalavatta, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai ������������������������������������������97 Figure 112. Changalavatta, drawing from Illustrations of Metal Work in Brass and Copper Figure 125�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������97 Figures 113-114. Changalavatta, (current location unknown)��������������������������������������������������������98 Figure 116. Oil lamps, Mattancherry Palace, Courtesy Mattancherry Palace Museum���99 Figure 115. Oil pot, Thrissur State Museum 13/6, Department of Archaeology, Kerala���99 Figure 117. Vanchi oil lamp, Vijayaraghavan Collection, Chennai������������������������������������101 Figure 118. Vanchi oil lamp, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Kerala, 9 ¼ by 15 inches c. 17th century, Stella Kramrisch Collection 1994, 1994-148-109a, b, Photo courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art���������������������������������������������������������������101 Figure 120. Kuthu, cup type torch horse head, Koyikkal Palace Museum, Nedamangadu��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������102 Figure 119. Vanchi oil lamp, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 15 by 13.5 inches, acc no. 285, open access�����������������������������������������������������������������102 Figure 121. Kuthu, horse-headed cup type suspended on chain, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������103 Figure 122. Ritual use of kuthu oil lamps, photo courtesy of Pepita Seth������������������������103 Figure 123. Elephant with mahout, Kerala, Ashmolean Museum, height 11 inches, EA2013.97, Bequest of Douglas and Mary Barrett.�������������������������������������������105 Figure 124. Das Avatar suspension lamp part Thrissur State Museum, 10/12.����������������106 Figure 125. Ardhanarishvara from plate of suspension oil lamp, Kerala, c.13th century Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, height 3.5 inches, acc. no. 1987.142.348, Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Gift of Samuel Eilenberg, Photo courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art��������������������������������������������������106 Figures 126-128. Krishna/Ganesha from plate of suspension oil lamp, Shankaranand Natesan collection, Bengaluru ���������������������������������������������������������������������������107 Figure 129. Bala Krishna suspension oil lamp, c. 15th century, Vijayaraghavan Collection, Chennai ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������108 Figure 130. Krishna Venugopala suspension oil lamp, Vijayaraghavan Collection, Chennai�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������109 Figure 131. Krishna Venugopala suspension oil lamp part, (Gaja Lakshmi on reverse) British Museum1979.06251, donated by Mrs. Edith Lande, height 3.5 in, width 15.2 inches, Photo courtesy British Museum����������������������������������������110 Figure 132. Birds from oil lamps, collection of Uma Rao, Bengaluru �������������������������������111 Figure 133. Kartikeya riding his peacock, part of a suspension oil lamp, Kerala, c. 14th century, height 11 ¾ in width 7 ½ inches, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem MA, Gift of Marilyn Walter Grounds, 2002, acc. no. E302038 ������������������������111

vii

Figure 134.

Peacock suspension oil lamp (missing figure of Kartikeya?), height 13.5 inches, with chain 47 inches, Photo courtesy Skinner, Inc.  www.skinnerinc.com��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������112 Figures 135-138. Guardian pair, Thrissur State Museum, from Iranikulam, Kerala, bronze, less than human size.�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������116 Figures 139-140. Ablution of Venugopala, former Lenart Collection.����������������������������������������117 Figure 141. Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Irinjalikuda temple, 10th century���������������������������118 Figure 142. Natesa, Kalmariaditya tandava, height 8 inches, Sotheby, lot 279, 19 Sept. 2008.������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������120 Figure 143. Yoga Narasimha, Kerala, height 8.5 inches, former Pan Asian collection.��121

viii

Acknowledgements My thanks to my guides and supporters during research and field work: intrepid travel companion, photographer and colleague, Barbara Heller Friedell; Suresh English, driver par excellence, who found many remote temples and museums in Kerala; Mary Beth Heston, Michael Meister, Princess Laxmi Bayi, Shankaranand Natesan, Suparna Natesan, Dinesan Natesan who offered insights and their expertise in the study of ancient Kerala. Collectors who generously allowed me to study their oil lamps include Lily Vijayaraghavan, Badri Vijayaraghavan, Uma Rao, and Radeesh Shetty. Venu Vasudevan, Additional Secretary, Kerala Museums, supported my study of museum objects in Kerala. Pepita Seth and Srikumar M. Menon who shared their knowledge and wonderful photographs of temple rituals. Several Indian, American and international museum collections aided my acquisition of photographs. Written during the Covid 19 pandemic while research libraries were closed. I am indebted for help in acquiring essential materials to Kathryn Phillips, librarian, Freer Library of the Smithsonian Institution. Vandana Sinha, Director Center for Art and Archaeology of the American Institute for Indian Studies provided much needed help.

ix

Note on names of towns This book uses the readopted traditional names of major towns in India. Kerala, land of coconuts, has reverted to use of city names that existed before the British renamed them. Both forms are in current use. The traditional names are now the new names. The old names are the former British names: Traditional/Historic/Modern

Former (British)

Thiruvananthapuram Trivandrum state capital Kollam Quilon Alappuzha Allepy Kochi Cochin (Ernaculum) Thrissur Trichur Palakkad Palghat Kozhikode Calicut Kannur Cannanore Thripunithura Tripunitura Thanjavur Tanjore, Tamil Nadu Mumbai Bombay, Maharashtra Chennai Madras, Tamil Nadu Bengaluru Bangalore, Karnataka The three regions of Kerala are from north to south: Malabar, Cochin/Kochi, and Travancore/Thiruvithamkoor

x

Chapter 1

Art of Devotion This study began as a documentation of the remarkable oil lamps in the Thrissur State Museum collection in Kerala merely to describe them and appreciate their aesthetic qualities. It began to grow when similar pieces were discovered in international collections. The context of oil lamps in Kerala rituals, their legends, their festival use, seemed to enrich their place in world art and add to the distinct nature of Kerala lamps. The fact that the metal art of Kerala had not been studied despite its excellence impelled my interest in adding a chapter on this art to the history of Indian art. Although the earliest figural lamps of Kerala are of greatest interest, the brilliant diversity of other well-known types of lamps cried for inclusion since that too is a subject not previously broached in Indian art history. During examination of the objects, surprisingly recognizable style and technology progression emerged into view suggesting dating clues for the lamps and for three-dimensional figure sculptures surviving in Kerala and around the world in public and private collections. Thus, the dating of Kerala’s metal art can be seen in progressive stages despite the absence of dated pieces. While inscriptional records of gifts of oil, lamps, land to be worked to financially support oil lamps, etc. to temples underline the great importance of oil lamps to Hindu worship, paleographic study of inscribed lamps could in the future further the grounding of the early history of its metal sculpture. Kerala’s culture is rich and unique and is an important component of South Indian art, Indian art and world art. Yet, the study of South Indian bronze sculpture has been dominated by appreciation of Chola Dynasty bronzes of Tamil Nadu created from the 10th to the 13th centuries and their imitators. Many of these are exquisite and large, having been made for public viewing. In fact, the art of Kerala bronze images seems to have nothing to do in size, style, genre, function or temperament with the contemporary Chola bronzes though both are predominantly Hindu. Sculpted images in Kerala that bear Tamil traits are evidence of later influences, post-17th century from the Nayaks.1 Early Kerala figure sculpture, so distinct from Chola imagery, deserves its chapter in the history of Indian religious art. The oil lamps of Kerala are among the finest works of Indian art displaying infinite variety, ingenuity, skill and above all aesthetic excellence. The figural representations found on many lamps are of the greatest refinement in relief casting. There is no lesser quality of these miniature sculptures; they stand well in comparison to the best of three-dimensional or relief figures of deities in bronze and wood. Today the workshops producing any of these forms or media are not the same artists. Lamps are made by specific communities. Most brass and bell 1

R. Nagaswamy, South Indian Bronzes: Kerala, in K. Khandalawala, ed. Indian Bronze Masterpieces, the Great Tradition, p. 17

1

Light of Devotion metal lamps are made by moosaris, while gold lamps are made by a thattan. Metal workers are skilled artisans with titles and special hereditary privileges granted by temple priests as the reward for their work. Possibly in centuries past there was no such division of specialties but a single workshop. The functions of the diverse lamp types are also varied from ritual processional use, illumination of temple sanctuaries, to stage lights for Kathakali and other performance arts enacted in temples or to light domestic shrines. The lamps are worthy of study for their aesthetic value alone but exist and persist in a full and rich context. The Hindu precept of akhanda jyot means that a lamp used for worship should burn without interruption. The offering of lit lamps to deities is one of the nine essential Brahmanical forms of worship. The tradition of their ritual use continues today. In addition, they are now also present in homes, hotels, restaurants, at weddings and at business meetings to solemnify any agreements or contracts. The early survivors of Kerala lamps may hold the key to establishment of a chronology for Kerala sculpture inasmuch as the lamps quite often are individual figures, or bear throngs of small figures. Complex figure groups enliven many lamps, though that type of narrative figural lamp is no longer made and such examples are among the earliest. One lamp in the form of a temple model above an oil plate, 18 inches tall, bears many figures that directly compare in style to Kerala temple procession figures in bronze. While their inscriptions rarely include dates, we can date them by paleography confirmed generally by style of the images. Dates of such lamps can be extended to similar undated sculptures allowing us to establish a chronology of the surviving larger temple images more than has been possible in earlier research.2 This analysis of the inscriptions on early Kerala lamps has not yet been undertaken. The great charm of the Kerala bronze, brass or bell metal figures on lamps derives from a heroic and dramatic intensity that seems to relate to the dance drama of Kathakali and other Hindu traditions of dance theater. In physiognomy, costume and gesture a major type of Kerala bronze image is quite like the visual expression of dancers in the Kerala Hindu tradition of dance theater. The heroic aspect of Hindu gods is emphasized. Their expressive faces have full and luscious features, broad mouths and bulging eyes. Their bodies are plump, compact and square. Their jewelry and its disposition on the body is distinct from other regional art styles or adornments and is familiar, especially in crown shapes, from the living dance theater. Small, about seven-inch, three-dimensional bronzes are often cast as groups of figures in a dramatic dioramic natural setting, for example Rama flanked by Sita and Lakshmana cast under a large spreading tree whose branches shelter all three figures (Figure 1). In this way, a literal vision of the great epic accounts of the god’s exploits is created but one that is curiously like an outdoor stage set. In sharp contrast to the sinuous South Indian Chola bronze images of Tamil Nadu of the gods and goddesses, Kerala figures, as three-dimensional images or as relief figures on lamps, are dramatic, intense and bursting with robust liveliness, but not sensuous in the same way. Similar adjectives apply to the traditional dances and dancers of Kerala - Kathakali and Yakshgana.3 Yakshagana, which originated in Karnataka, is no longer performed in Kerala, but other dance forms such as Mohiniattam and Theyyam may be relevant. 2

M. G. S. Narayanan, Perumals of Kerala, Thrissur, CosmoBooks, 2018: 25, notes that in the Chera period changes in letters in Valleluttu script from century to century helps date undated inscriptions. 3 M. B. Heston, Powerful Bodies: Kerala Style Bronzes and Thinking about a Regional Style, Archives of Asian Art, 54, 2004

2

Art of Devotion

Figure 1. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, Kerala, c. 12th century, 6.5 inches, Collection of the late Dinesan Natesan, Bengaluru

The early metal oil lamps of Kerala of around the 14th century (possibly some exist from the 12th century or earlier) may be the finest ever created in South Asia or at least surviving. What was the motivation for producing so many wonderful oil lamps? Most were made on commission as a dev danam or diya, an offering to the gods, a meritorious gift presented to a temple priest in Kerala by a devout Hindu, perhaps a rich merchant or a ruler. In this way Hindu temple oil lamps are different from oil lamps of other cultures. While some in India were practical devices for lighting the night, these Hindu lamps were made to carry prayers to the notice of god though ritual use of light. Mosques are lit by lamps that are often glass painted with enamel and gilded. One such mosque lamp displayed in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D. C., bears a painted calligraphic inscription on its flaring neck which could be read easily when the lamp was lit (Figure 2). It compares the light of God to the light of a lamp glowing in the darkness.4 Thus, the divine and light are associated as they are in Hinduism, but the Islamic Egyptian lamp’s function is to light space and create a special ambiance, not to carry a prayer. Oil lamps may suffer scholarly discrimination as minor decorative arts just as they are mostly unnoticed by Hindus, so accustomed to their presence as they worship. Decorative art means any arts that are concerned with the design and decoration of objects that are chiefly prized for their utility rather than for their purely aesthetic qualities. Indian decorative arts are vastly understudied although their aesthetic qualities are often remarkable. Around the 4

F1957.19, Egypt, Mamluk period, c. 1360.

3

Light of Devotion

Figure 2. Oil lamp, Egypt, Mamluk period, c. 1360, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. F1957.19

world in ancient times the night was lit by oil lamps. Many cultures have documented their ancient bronze oil lamps extensively and they range from simple to deluxe as for example in Renaissance Italy. Yet what every Hindu knows about temple lamps, so basic to worship and traditions, is virtually unknown to non-Hindus. In the very limited literature on the topic, oil lamps are variously referred to as metal objects, metal art, utensils, ritual metal ware, ritual accessories, religious articles, ceremonial utensils, temple paraphernalia, industrial arts, minor arts, votive lamps, mobile lamps and stationary lamps, liturgical objects, motif lamps and decorative art objects. The use of oil lamps in Kerala and other regions is not restricted to Hindu temple worship. Similar lamps were made for use in Jewish, Christian and Muslim worship and are also found in secular locations blessing homes, restaurants, shops and hotels. Fire is of central importance to Zoroastrians (Parsis) but the oil lamps used in worship are simple pots of oil. Small clay single wick oil lamps, like pinch pots, are ubiquitous in India, but the focus of this study is on their more illustrious relatives cast in bronze, brass, bell metal, gold and silver. A large body of tribal or folk art coexists which does include oil lamps, often 4

Art of Devotion very energetic and expressive but of a rather stiff aesthetic quality. At Theyyam temples in northern Kerala, Malabar, many of the same types of oil lamps are still used as are found further south in Kerala. Many diverse folk examples including Kerala oil lamps have been published by Kelkar, Anderson and Aryan. Tribal and folk forms of lamps are also outside this study, but certainly deserve full examination. Because of the tradition of replacing old lamps with new shiny ones, replacing old thin metal lighter weight lamps with more expensive, heavy thick lamps, for purposes of this study established collections of museums or private collectors have been relied upon. These lamps are documented as to their age. The oldest preserved examples are of historical interest. Many of the same general designs continue to be made today by means of mass production, the ubiquitous type being the nila vilakku, a lamp made to be stationary. Collections Some public and other private collections of oil lamps have preserved their history. In Kerala, Thrissur was established as a center of great culture from early medieval times. The Thrissur State Museum has the most outstanding collection of oil lamps. The capital of the Trivandrum royal family, Thiruvananthapuram, likewise has left a rich collection of temple lamps some now displayed in the Kuthira Maliga or Kuthiamalika, Palace Museum or the Mansion of Horses (so called because of the horse heads carved to decorate the windows upstairs). This museum is located near the entrance to the great royal Padmanabhaswamy temple. Raja Kelkar was a pioneer in collecting the other arts of India, the everyday arts, and his collection is rich in oil lamps to be seen today in his museum in Pune. He took great joy in the creativity and ingenuity of folk traditions and objects, as did K. C. Aryan. In Gurugram the K. C. Aryan Museum of Folk, Tribal and Neglected Art has a collection including folk lamp examples. Four generations of Natesans have collected and helped to build many collections of Indian art with a special interest in the art of Kerala. Lily Vijayaraghavan has a rich collection of more than 300 lamps gathered over her lifetime in her private collection in Chennai. Radeesh Shetty’s collection in Bengaluru is substantial. Dakshina Chitra (museum) near Chennai displays regional types of lamps that are traditional but not old. There is a museum of lamps in Kozhikode. The Madras Government Museum has a collection of more than forty lamps published by Edgar Thurston in 1913.5 Also, in India the Napier Museum in Thiruvananthapuram, the Thrissur State Museum, and the Crafts Museum, New Delhi, have wonderful examples. The Museum of Art and Photography in Bengaluru and the Folklore Museum in Kochi have basic collections of lamps. Some lamps have been collected outside India. In the USA the Honolulu Museum of Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Denver Art Museum, University of Missouri, Colombia, Museum of Art and Archaeology, the Bhansali collection in New Orleans and at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Fowler Museum of UCLA in Los Angeles have some quality pieces.6 In Europe the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Staatliche Museum in Munich have outstanding pieces. In Kerala families cherish their heirloom oil lamps and give others as temple dev danam or wedding gifts but they are not considered to be art objects 5

E. Thurston, V. Asari, and W. S. Hadaway, Illustrations of Metalwork in Brass and Copper Mostly South Indian. Madras, Government Museum, 1913 6 S. Anderson, Flames of Devotion, Los Angeles: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 2006

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Light of Devotion to collect. Such is the depth of the Hindu tradition in Kerala. Probably the most remarkable oil lamps are unknown to the world because they are private family treasures. Namboodri women have a separate puja room by the kitchen of the house where a bronze tray serves as a platform for small figures of deities. They are referred to as kitchen gods. There are also undoubtedly other temple, public and private collections with excellent examples of oil lamps, mostly unpublished. No doubt exquisite examples which are not to be seen by the public at all are preserved in the treasury beneath the royal Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The trove is sealed and it is strictly protected as it belongs only to the god. It must be an exhilarating collection that would rewrite the history of art in Kerala if released (I am not advocating that it should be).7 The great variety and ingenuity of design of oil lamps of Kerala is often cited. At least 30 standard traditional types of oil lamps with individual names and distinct ritual functions are seen in Kerala. Some lamp types have multiple names orF regional terminology. There are also lamps that can be one of a kind that seem to be the result of pure artistic ingenuity and sometimes humor. Many combine standard elements, lotus bud, birds, animals, trees, in a new format. This monograph focuses on illustrating and explaining extraordinary examples of 12 of the major traditional types using other examples for comparison. Festivals The culture of lamps is inherent in the culture of India. Deepavali (Diwali), the India-wide holiday of lights, occurs for five days in Oct.-Nov. to celebrate the mythic event when Rama returned to India from Sri Lanka as a hero having rescued Sita, and the days are getting shorter. Lamps light up villages and cities all over India, but these are mostly small, clay oil cups, returned to the earth after use. Every Hindu home has one or more oil lamps and these are also lit for these holidays. Although Diwali is important all over India, it is not very popular in Kerala. Instead, Kartika Vilakku, during the Hindu month of Karthika (full moon day in November) is when homes are decorated with lamps, especially gajalakshmi lamps (Figures 25, 28, 31). Lamps are important also at the annual festival held on Makara Sankranti in Kerala at the Sabarimala temple in January. The Lakshadeepam festival on January 14/15 marks the grand finale of a yajna or ritual sacrifice wherein Shri Padmanabhaswamy (Vishnu) is adored at the temple in Thiruvananthapuram by lighting of a lakh, 100,000, of lamps. This event occurs every six years and will occur next in 2022. It is a spectacular event which lights the sky.8 While lamps are practical to light the movements of priests in the dark sanctum of a Hindu temple, the power of the special atmosphere of warm, glowing light is an aspect of religion worldwide. We need only think of the sacred quality of light cast in Gothic European cathedrals from great stained-glass windows, or a sanctum lit by candle light creating a special atmosphere associated with the divine presence. 7

V. Bajaj, Beneath a  Temple  in Southern India, a  Treasure Trove  of Staggering ... New York Times, July 4, 2011. https://www.NYTimes.com/2011/7/4World/AsiaPacific, 2011 8 Anderson, Flames of Devotion, pp. 61-67 describes the festivals

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Figure 3. Wall of lamps, Mahadeva temple, Ettumanar, Kerala

The soft glow of the oil lamps gently throws its muted golden sheen on the exquisitely decorated idol and lingers in devotion on the grains of rice as they cascade over Her in what appears to be a shower of mellow gold, creating an out of the world enchantment.9 The image is bathed first and is wet. Lamplight makes bronze and silver look gold. There were actually many gold and silver oil lamps that may have since been remade into jewelry.10 The traditional use of special gold or silver lamps within the sanctum of major temples continues today. Entire exterior walls of Kerala wooden temples are covered with a wooden latticework holding in each space a clay or simple metal oil cup which creates a lovely light especially at night, every night (Figure 3). Lamps are carried in procession around the temple by priests in multiple timed rituals daily, they are hung in the sanctum, they stand on their own before the sanctum, they are waved before the deity by priests. They are omnipresent. Bibliography As previously remarked, Indian oil lamps have been published very little. Although they are an essential part of Hindu worship and are mentioned in many 100s of inscriptions from all periods as gifts to temples, they are never illustrated in any survey of Indian art. However, they are often mentioned with admiration, for example in Splendors of Kerala, Lance Dane commented that Votive lamps are Kerala’s tour-de-force, cast in brass, bronze and bell metal. They are 9

A. T. G. L. Bayi, Thulasi Garland, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1998, p. 155 National Museum New Delhi, acc no. 90.898

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Light of Devotion rich in design and are a combination of beauty and grace.11 In India Stuart Cary Welch wrote an entire exhibition could be held of Indian oil lamps, so remarkable are their variety and quality, and the lamps of Kerala are among the most appealing and imaginative.12 Nagaswamy commented but did not elaborate “Another fascinating contribution of Kerala bronze makers are the great lamps of skillful workmanship figuring images of gods and goddesses.”13 Despite such enthusiasm there has been no serious attempt to document and study these oil lamps. In The Art of Ancient India Susan Huntington mentions the lack of scholarly study of the art of Kerala citing three reasons: the geographical insularity of the region bounded by the sea and the Western Ghats mountain range, the conservative religious restrictions of access to the temples, and the general inattention of scholars to late (medieval) artistic developments.14 She also comments Kerala art developed into what can only be considered a highly distinctive and original idiom, which offers a promising area for future research.15 The bibliography for Hindu temple oil lamps of India is very short and superficial. Raja Kelkar, above all, strove to publish examples he personally collected and displayed in his museum in Pune, but his observations are not a history of the art but an appreciation of the idea of light and the divine. The same is the tenor of an exhibition catalog published by Sean Anderson, Flames of Devotion.16 Van Lohuizen de Leeuw in Sri Lanka Ancient Arts, published six examples of oil lamps, all of which relate to lamps made in Kerala in their elegance and artistic vocabulary.17 A useful folio was published in 1913 by the team of Thurston, Asari and Hadaway of the mostly Tamil metal work in the Madras Government Museum, including about 40 examples of oil lamps already in the collection.18 The motivation for the publication was to preserve knowledge of the types and their means of casting for future generations of craftsmen. Each lamp includes line drawings and a cross section to make visible its means of construction. Comments about the pieces are sparse but pithy. This record serves to establish the more than 100-year heritage of the traditional lamps. These lamps, however, are not on exhibit at the museum in Chennai currently. In this collection in Tamil Nadu certain types of Kerala oil lamps are not seen including elephant lamps and mythic relief suspension lamps. Other ancient cultures that produced excellent ancient oil lamps include Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Nepal, China, Rome, Syria, and Italy. Of the South and Southeast Asian cultures that created outstandingly beautiful oil lamps, none has been adequately documented, studied, or published. The question arises, why are there more aesthetically outstanding examples of oil lamps in Kerala and why are they ubiquitous? A proposed explanation revolves around the fact of the traditional and conservative culture of Hindu Kerala, which is well acknowledged. As it was a part of India that was very internationally linked to other cultures and their religions through 11

L. Dane, The Metal Art of the Cheras. In Splendours of Kerala. Bombay Marg Publications 1983, p. 126 S. C. Welch, India: Art and Culture, 1300-1900, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985, p. 35 13 K. Khandalavala, The Great Tradition, Indian Bronze Masterpieces, New Delhi, 1988, p. 175; Gangoly was actually the most interested and rapturous scholar writing about Kerala oil lamps before the others: O. C. Gangoly, Southern Indian Lamps. Burlington Magazine. no. CDC, vol. XXIX, 1916a, pp. 141-2; O. C. Gangoly, South Indian Lamps, The Journal of Indian Art and Industry, 1886-1916; London vol. 17, Iss. 129-136, (Oct.), 2016b, pp. 77-81. 14 S. L. Huntington, The Art of Ancient India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Weatherhill, New York, 1985, p. 615 15 Huntington, The Art of Ancient India, p. 601 16 Anderson, Flames of Devotion; see review by M. Meister in Museum Anthropology Review 1 (2), 2007, pp. 122-123 17 J. E. Van Lohuizen de Leeuw, Sri Lanka Ancient Arts, Commonwealth Institute, London, 1981, pp. 72-77 18 Thurston et al., Illustrations of Metalwork 12

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Art of Devotion sea trade since ancient times, its own traditions may have become especially protected and valued. In other regions of India oil lamps of a defining regional style are found though in lesser numbers and not of the degree of ingenuity and beauty of Kerala lamps. These lamps, from Orissa, Rajasthan, Karnataka etc., certainly deserve study and preservation. The long survival of the Hindu royal families of Kerala as patrons of Hinduism and its ritual arts may be considered to have lent endurance to these ritual arts. In other regions of India which are orthodox but perhaps were infused with other cultures, such objects might have more readily been recycled for their metal value resulting in a comparative paucity of old and exquisite examples today. In other religious art forms in Kerala there is also great distinction from that of other regions and royal reigns of India. Only in Kerala is there such an extensive history and survival of wooden architecture with gabled tile roofs. Of course, equally remarkable is the sculptural adornment of these temples in wood or stone carving on their bases which are original even if the temple burned several times. Temples are and were also enhanced with large mural-like paintings of the myths and the gods on the interior walls of the temples. Kerala temples are, in short, multi-media creations. Unfortunately, wood burns and few pieces of architectural carving seen today are thought to have been created earlier than the 16th century. Temples have burned and been rebuilt many times. In fact, the use of open-flaming oil lamps may have contributed to this loss. However, of surviving wood sculptures, some in private collections, there are delightful similarities of inventive mythic depictions, the likes of which are duplicated in miniature relief imagery on bronze oil lamps. All of this applies to the wonderful, bright mural-like paintings on palace and temple interiors and exteriors, best known from the Mattancherry Palace. Narrative relief scenes depicted in cast bronze on early temple oil lamps are like miniature versions of these paintings or wood carvings (which were originally also painted in primary colors). A surviving excellent example of miniature relief work in bronze on a collar of a dhavajastambha, a rafter shoe encasing and protecting a wooden beam, in wood miniature carving, on Kerala jewelry or dowry boxes not to mention the art of goldsmiths, broadens our awareness of the range of art forms we must keep in mind.19 Temple and palace rafter shoes made to cover an architectural wooden beam were cast in relief with deities and are another location of metal figure sculpture unique to Kerala. Inscriptions The aesthetic excellence of these minor decorative arts is made more appealing for study, however, by the fact that many are inscribed. When a devotee’s prayer is answered a dev danam, gift to the gods, is given in the form of a lamp, a votive offering, presented to the temple. Inscriptions on these lamps provide a view into religious and social history as well as dates for the objects directly or through associative context or paleography. Inscriptions provide prayers, names of donor, inventory numbers, weight of the metal, but rarely a date. Perpetual donations for oil for lamps and records of gifts of lamps are also inscribed on temple walls and have been published by Poduval and Narayanan for Kerala. Provisions for their perpetual illumination by legal endowments are also recorded most frequently in the form of gifts of cows, sheep, buffaloes whose milk is clarified into ghee to burn before the god. Inscriptions on lamps, which do not include dates, could be dated by paleography and confirmed by style 19

For example, a temple dhavajastambha collar in the British Museum, acc. 1880.1609, and an architectural rafter shoe with relief figures in the Natesan collection and the Napier Museum

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Light of Devotion of the images. Dates of such figural lamps can be extended to similar sculptures. Thereby an approximate chronology of surviving temple images might be more firmly established than has been possible in earlier research. Inscriptions recording gifts of oil lamps or oil for lamps to temples are common in Kerala and a11 over India at all times. In Tiruvalla, about 86 km. south of Kochi, a set of copper plates were collected and arranged in the 11th century recording gifts to the temple Brahmins made over the past 300 years. Land of about 2000 kalam seed capacity (enough land to plant 330,000 lbs. of seeds) was allotted for Nandavilakku (the perpetually burning lamp). The income and food from the lands fed not only the lamp with oil, but the Brahmins and the extensive staff of the temple operations with food. The major type of gift to the temple god was sacred oil lamps (tiruvillaku), and such donations are recorded as coming from a Chera queen, king, governors and a Chola king and queen, as well as a large number of common people.20 Where are these old lamps? They were certainly being made and gifted. Could the temple keep or use so many? Undoubtedly, they were recycled for the value of their metal. Aryan Brahmins who settled in Kerala, coming perhaps from Chalukya lands as proposed by Narayanan, owned lands and villages around the temples due to pious donation of devotees to support the temples. Kings and other kshatriyas administered the lands. A Brahmin oligarchy controlled the agricultural wealth and dominated the culture and religion of the society and maintained a ritual monarchy for its administration. The kings were administrators behoven to the priests. Many gifts of lamps or land were recorded on the temple walls or in the compound rather than on copper plates. On a rock near the Thiruvithacode temple of Shiva (Tamil Nadu) an inscription mentions an early 11th century king and a gift of gold for a lamp by a native of the town. On the base of the shrine of the same temple an inscription records the gift of five buffaloes for a perpetual lamp by Arangan Tiruvaypatl of Vembannur and again on the base of the sanctum a gift of land toward the expense of burning a lamp is registered.21 The Kanyakumari stone inscription tells of ten gold lamps gifted to Shri Padmanabha Perumal by Parantaka Pandya, a contemporary of King Chulothunga Chola between 1070 and 1120.22 This is an early date to prove existence of oil lamps but not the earliest by any means. Hindu scriptures state that “There have been and there can be no better gifts than the gift of lamps.” Atonement for killing an animal required the fine of an endowment of a perpetually burning lamp in the temple in order that the hunter might escape revenge from the soul of the victim. In Kerala metal oil lamps are often inscribed. Their inscriptions give the name of the donor, who hopes to acquire merit by the gift, and the weight of the metal used in making the lamp, as this is the measure of the degree of devotion of the donor, heavier metal being more expensive. The inscriptions themselves may be useful for dating by paleographic analysis. Their approximate date, thus gained, could help solve another puzzle-the dating of individual cast bronze figures of deities made in Kerala, which then have a datable style. This methodology for dating Kerala 20

Listed by Narayanan, Perumals of Kerala, pp. 265-268. R. V. Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, A Topographical List. Trivandrum, 1940, p. 60 22 Bayi, Thulasi Garland, p. 111 21

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Art of Devotion bronzes offers an important anchor to study and analysis of the style of Kerala bronze art where otherwise scholars have been uncertain for decades. The tradition of gifts of oil for lamps is known from temples in other areas of India. For example, in Aihole, an Early Chalukya site in Karnataka, on the Huchchimalli temple’s front wall is an inscription dated 708 CE recording a gift of oil for the temple lamp.23 This 8th century inscription gives an early date concerning the use of meritorious gifts to support rituals with temple oil lamps, but even in the stone relief imagery of Sanchi’s great stupa (1st century BCE) we see depictions of oil lamps lighting the night scenes of the life of Buddha. Typical gifts made and recorded to fuel temple lamps include cows, sheep, and buffaloes whose milk is purified to ghee for burning in special lamps, and grants of land whose revenue will support the expense of oil, or just gold or money. In Kerala such gifts are recorded in Tamil or Malayalam. Some revealing inscriptions from stone temple parts are listed by Poduval. In the Venkatacalapati temple at Alakiyapandyapuram, in Tamil in Kollam era 299 (CE 1123) a Pandya dynasty civilian gave money for the temple lamps.24 This 12th century inscription is of interest because it reminds us that, although Pandya art has barely been studied, the Pandyas were a major political presence and art influence in Kerala. Entire temples in Kerala were financed and built by Pandyas. Gifts are described in inscriptions as gifts for a perpetually burning lamp (Nandavilakku), which is an important lamp for communication with the divine. One royal grant records a request for a tax on oil mills for lamps at a certain temple.25 We learn also of gifts to support oil lamps in Jain temples: 25 cows, 50 sheep.26 In 1750 a stone lamp stand before the temple was the gift of Marttandan Sankaran of Kulikkatu.27 The Tamil King Rajendra Chola (r. c.1014-1044 CE) gave gold for a lamp to a Shiva temple in Muncirai, Tamil Nadu.28 It is unclear if this is for a lamp to be made of gold or to buy oil. Many lamps, most of them now recycled, were made of gold. In 1611, Ammai, daughter of a temple officer, gave money for the festival expenses to the god, and it states in this inscription that she made the Krishna image.29 We thereby have evidence of women as patrons of oil lamps in this traditionally matrilineal society wherein lineage and inheritance are traced through the mother’s line. Another early, dated stone inscription relevant to oil lamps is ninth century on the temple at Parthavivapuram in Tamil Nadu, written in Sanskrit and Tamil in Grantha and Vatteluttu (or Vattezhuthu) scripts, recording a gift of gold for lamps by Pancavan Brahmadhirajan.30 A loose stone at the same temple states that Sankaran Ranasingan set up a silver image in the temple.31 In 1625, in Suchindram in the far south in Tamil Nadu a grant was made under Vijayanagara auspices to the temple by Nagammai, daughter of Terur, for making a lamp borne by an image and for keeping it burning, i.e., a deepalaksmi type lamp, perhaps.32 Gifts are made by and recorded as being given by women and by men. 23

J. F. Fleet, Inscription of Vijayaditta Satyaraya at Aihole. Indian Antiquary 8 (57), 1879, p. 284. Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 8 Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 36 26 Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 39 27 Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 40 28 Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 189, No. 13 29 Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 164, No. 17 30 Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 167, No. 2 31 Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 167, No. 4 32 Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 216, No. 75, in Sanskrit 24 25

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Figure 4. Metal shop employee inscribing a new kindi, Mannar, Kerala

Records inscribed on sets of copper plates rarely record gifts of oil for lamps. Instead, they contain political history and land grants to temples. One copper plate, however, records in Malayalam a gift of lands by the king’s agents in 1540 for the maintenance of a torana of lamps (that is a giant door-size arch covered with cups for oil and wicks to be lit) in the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.33 We also see this type of giant illuminated doorframe at the famous temple of Meenakshi Amman in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The tradition of inscribing lamps continues today. Purchasing a new, mass-produced oil lamp in a metal shop in Kerala in 2001 for the benefit of his wife and to be given to the temple, a 33

Poduval, Travancore Inscriptions, p. 319, No. 70

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Figure 5. Tree-shaped lamp, inscribed 1555, Denver Museum of Art, Colorado, height 25 inches, diameter 15 in, Gift in Life Trust from Mrs. Irene Littledale Downs in memory of William H. Downs, acc. no. 1964.8A-E. Photo Courtesy Denver Art Museum

young husband has her name inscribed on it in the shop by an employee with an electric stylus (Figure 4). The inscription includes the weight of the metal, but, alas, no date. He is also buying and having inscribed a kindi, a spouted holy water pot for ritual use, to give to the temple priests, another ritually used object. These objects price is based on the weight of the metal. In ancient to medieval times, inscriptions were also written on the lamps before gifting, and in rare cases the inscription was cast in the lamp when made. In fact, the only cast inscribed date on an oil lamp that I know of is in the Denver Art Museum collection. That Malayalam

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Light of Devotion inscription was read and published by Nagar.34 This small lamp (25 by 15.5 inches), is important because it is dated 1555 in an inscription on its base (Figure 5). The inscription is partially incised and partially cast in high relief around the base. The incised portion gives the name Kodena, the donor, perhaps a king. The cast relief writing contains the word kotujuram which might mean high fever. Extrapolating from this, the lamp may have been donated with a prayer for the cure of a loved one from high fever. Since the date portion of the inscription is cast in the metal it must be original. The tree has three tiers or levels of branches encircling the trunk. The trunk is not very naturalistic and the branches leading to the cups are formulaic in design and form a net-like pattern. This example is a standard and abundant type still made today, though now made by machine. At its apex is a lotus bud-shaped finial associated with Shiva, described to me by a Vaikom temple priest as the generative part. The lamp is cast in three sections. Its metal content is heavy with thick cast walls. This is the only clearly dated oil lamp discovered thus far. Since it is not figural it does not help with the effort to date other lamps or sculptures by association of style except to say that by 1555 the type was standard and not creatively detailed. Other information is contained in inscriptions added to lamps. For example, the royal collection of lamps given to the State Museum in Thrissur by H. H. Maharaja of Cochin in about 1960, was inscribed on the greatest of the lot, e.g., the masterpiece lamp, number 10/2, number one of eighty of Devaswom Board of Cochin, Tulam 3, Palam 70 ¼. A tulum is a weight of 3 kg. and a palam is 1/100th of a tulam. This lamp weighs 29 kilograms, or about 63 pounds. The temple devaswom board donated these lamps to the museum in 1960. The weight of the metal is often recorded on the lamps, though less often on the earliest lamps than the later ones which are much thicker cast metal. The heavier the metal, the more expense, the more meritorious the gift. The earlier lamps, however, that are more artistically inspired, are of much thinner metal casting and contain a higher percentage of bitumen and therefore are lighter and more receptive to detailed casting. The tradition that is continued of making heavy, massive metal lamps with thick walls as a display of devotion and wealth came into vogue only around the fifteenth to sixteenth century it seems. It is thereby easy to distinguish a delicate, light weight, uninscribed, fourteenth-century lamp from its massive eighteenthcentury descendent. In fact, the price of an oil lamp today depends on its weight. Tarnished old lamps are exchanged for shiny new lamps at the ritual metal object stores. Old ones are melted to make new ones that are machine made and mass produced. The new ones are purchased by devotees and given to the priest at the temple to carry their prayers with some priestly help. The practice seems somewhat analogous to Christians lighting a candle and saying a prayer for a sick relative. The excessive numbers of bronze, bell metal or brass oil lamps given to major temples results in their quiet sale back to metal shops. If a lamp was used at an important temple, like the Guruvayor temple, then it has a higher sale value. Temples have storehouses and storehouses of temples, like Padmanabhaswamy in Thiruvananthapuram, must be quite full of remarkable lamps that were given to god centuries ago. That would include many made of gold or silver. The metal alloy referred to as bell metal is used for making bells, cymbals and oil lamps. It has a higher tin content than bronze (4:1 ratio of copper to tin) which increases the rigidity of the metal and its resonance for bells and cymbals. It is harder than bronze.

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S. Nagar, Dipa Lakshmis -The Votive Lamps of India, Pantheon 38 (2), 1980, p. 142

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Art of Devotion Dating difficulties When can the earliest of surviving oil lamps be dated: 10th, 12th, 14th 16th century? The conservative answer is the early 12th century but I would place a few as early as the 10th century. The question of dating of Kerala bronzes is challenging. One Kerala oil lamp in the Denver Art Museum previously mentioned bears an inscription with the date 1555 (Figure 5). That particular dated vriksha vilakku is a common non-figural type and is not of any special quality. Scholars have tended to give Kerala bronzes rather late dates. Some see a relation to Hoyshala bronzes of the 12th to 14th centuries with exuberant ornament as evidence for an influence on Kerala style from this late dynasty’s art produced in Karnataka. On the contrary, I am among those who see Kerala style as consciously individual to distinguish it from that of other dynastic styles such as Hoyshala and Chola. There is a style that is purely originated in Kerala by the Cheras (c. 850-1124 CE). It is distinct in iconography, use, and in figure type. Given the terminus ante quem of the Dadigamma elephant lamp of 12th century, to be discussed later, I am inclined to date certain Kerala bronze figures and lamps in metal earlier starting in at least the early 12th century CE. Other factors for this argument will be explained. The Cheras were a power in relation to the Brahmin oligarchs between 800-1124 CE. The context is there, though sparse. There are early Buddhist and Jain stone carvings and early bronzes by the 10th century. We know there has been a long and continuous tradition of wood carving and mural painting, temple arts that burned in temples and has been replaced many times through many centuries. We also know that there is a tradition of loss by the recycling of gold, silver and bronze images replaced by new ones. There may be a comparatively small surviving body of objects to study Kerala sculptural style. I would like to distinguish further the Chera style and the style of art in Kerala that is a mixture of Chera and Chola or Tamil style elements, the result of fluctuating political borders and aesthetic influences. Loss due to the tradition of recycling metal pieces, burning problems of wooden temples with their paintings leaves us with a less fulsome chronological progression to study style. It may also be relevant that Kerala was divided within by kingdoms in different regions especially the southern tip. It seems that each may have fostered a slightly idiosyncratic style through the local metal workshops. Encouraging news is that old pieces come to light during road building projects, or in one case, when the temple tank was drained for deep cleaning of a temple during the Covid 19 pandemic (Figure 141).35 In these latter cases bronzes images recovered seem to easily date to the 10th century. In the face of invasion, it was common to hide the temples’ murti underground in a hidden vault or in the temple tank. Regional workshops, such as one that must have existed at Thripunithura, created a line of imagery contemporaneous with the work of other regional workshops, but each with a distinct style, compounding this absence of a very large body of work from each to study. As stated by Heston I suspect that stylistic differences within the ‘Kerala style’ bronzes are probably the result of a number of developments.36 There must have been a number of different centers of bronze casting, foundries, each with its own distinctive idiom, and these could well have 35 36

Times of India.com 6/11/20 Heston, Powerful Bodies, p. 83. This is the most serious discussion of dating considerations for Kerala art.

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Light of Devotion developed along differing chronological trajectories That is why the older museum collections such as Thrissur and the British Museum are so important. Pratapaditya Pal has dated a Hindu bronze seated Vishnu in the Bhansali collection (New Orleans), which is rich in Kerala images, to 10th century which seems appropriate to me.37 A major discussion of dating problems has been published by Heston.38 Nagaswamy has dated two standing bronze figures of Vishnu in the Trivandrum Museum to 8th century and the very similar Melaiyur Maitreya to 700 CE, which seems likely to me and a Vallabha Ganapathi to 10th century. The Vishnu-Maya Durga, encrusted with ornaments like the Thrissur dvarapala, is dated 13th and later - 17th century (Figures 135-138).39 I would agree with commencing the chronology of bronzes around 700 CE, with fine pieces in the 10th and continuing through the mid-12th century. By the 14th and 15th century they become rote. In northern Malabar in the 10th century, we know of remarkable Buddhist bronze figures such as the 5-foot tall seated Avalokiteshvara in the Kadri Manjunatha temple in Mangalore dated 968 and other meditating stone Buddhas. Thereafter, Buddhist images in Kerala do not seem to have been made or were destroyed.40 There is evidence of Buddhist practice from quite early in Kerala, but its decline began in the 8th century and it was gone by the 11th century. Today some temples have images of the gods on their outer walls made from colored neon lights, some of them flashing or moving. In most cultures the advent of kerosene lamps of the west and then electricity around 1922 ended the production of oil lamps, candelabras, torches and other fiery forms of light, but in India especially the magical quality of flaming light is still valued along with the ancient importance of ritual oil lamps as a means of relation to the divine. Furthermore, when the monsoon hits and electricity fails, oil lamps are still dependable. So far in India neon lights have not replaced oil lamps although the gods are depicted in neon at some temples. The traditional production and persistent use of oil lamps in Kerala, a very orthodox Hindu culture, is stronger than in any other region of India. In fact, although the entire world depended on oil lamps before electricity for 1000s of years, their use in India today is the only major and continuous traditional use in the world. That is because the sacred and daily rituals of Hindu worship utterly require oil lamps. Their light symbolizes knowledge which dispels darkness and ignorance. Knowledge is the greatest wealth. God is the illuminator of all knowledge, He is the chaitanya, spirit or principle of knowledge. Thereby, light is worshipped as the deity itself. In temple rituals when it is necessary to move a deity from place to place, from one temple to another, a lamp is lit from the lamp in the temple sanctum and carried by a priest to the second temple deity’s sanctum. The chaitanya of one temple can be transferred to another and later returned. A special lamp is used for this transportation, the changalavatta (Figures 110-114). The gift of an oil lamp to the temple gains the donor merit, the quantity of merit depending on the metal weight of the lamp. Huge, old oil lamps (if not sold) grace the entry to the temple and again to the sanctum in major temples.41 These may be 100s of years old. They represent 37

P. Pal, The Elegant Image, Bronzes from the Indian Subcontinent in the Siddharth K. Bhansali Collection: Mumbai, Marg Publishers, 2011, p. 174 38 Heston, Powerful Bodies, pp. 63-93 39 Khandalavala, The Great Tradition, pp. 170-173 40 J. C. Harle, The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1986, p. 354, Figure 281 41 A. T. G. L. Bayi, Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 2000, p. 257 describes a bronze twelve-tiered lamp at the door to the inner sanctum of the Padmanabhaswamy temple, with figures at the base on top of a tortoise, claimed to be one of the finest of its kind in Kerala.

16

Art of Devotion

Figure 6. cleaning disassembled oil lamp

the cultural history of Kerala, and yet they are often sold never to be seen again. Many of them have legends associated with them. In the sanctum gold or silver lamps are required to honor the deity and in this clarified butter (ghee) will be burned rather than sesame (gingelly) or coconut oil because it burns more purely and produces less soot. Nonetheless, they must be cleaned daily and the person who cleans them does so because he has the inherited right to perform that specific ritual devotional duty (Figure 6). Certain lightings of lamps are performed by people of temple status at regular times during puja. It is an act of devotion to light the lamps as it is to donate oil or wicks for them daily. The wick maker in some cases fills a hereditary honorific position granted by the temple priests. He rolls 1000s of cloth wicks by hand against his thigh daily and may need to engage assistants to meet the need.42 There 42

P. Seth, Heaven on Earth, The Universe of Kerala’s Guruvayur Temple. Niyogi, New Delhi, 2009, p. 99

17

Light of Devotion may be five or more regular daily pujas at a temple plus special ones paid for by a devotee for a special prayer requiring a constant and large supply of materials which are paid for by donations. Daily the lighting of the temple deepastambha is necessary, then there are sanctum pujas and processional pujas with the deity carried on elephant back which also require lamps many times a day, and daily there is the deeparadhana offering at dusk of lights lit on the entire outer and inner temple enclosure walls. This requires lighting of about 1000 lamps on the latticed walls (Figure 3). Nighttime performances of Kathakali or other traditional arts also require large nila vilakku to dramatically light the faces of the actors. They serve as stage lights. But they are seen everywhere throughout the temple. The daily cycle of puja always requires oil lamps, does not end, and the supplies are the duty of the devotees and an act of devotion and merit to donate. It is my hope that this study might stimulate an appreciation of the part these oil lamps play when preserved in keeping the record of Kerala’s heritage of the art of metal casting in service of worship of the divine. Perhaps an interest will arise in the preservation and study of examples of the creations of the moosaris (metal workers) of centuries past which continues today. As Thurston hoped in 1913 to make information available from the Madras Museum collection about how traditional craftsmen made the lamps, with the photographic record of this study the magnificent legacy of Kerala aesthetics will be passed to future generations of devotees, art lovers and scholars.

18

Chapter 2

Classification Kerala’s ritual oil lamps are designed in great variety. The first distinction I have made in this monograph is to classify them by their use into three functional types: suspension lamps, stationary lamps, and portable lamps. Within these three classification groups there are lamps of a great variety of designs. For example, suspension lamps can be designed as elephantshaped, temple-shaped, or centered on an image of a deity or divine mythic event. While the designs of some oil lamps are traditional in other regions of India as well as Kerala, four design types of oil lamps are uniquely characteristic of Kerala lamps, especially in earlier times, and embody strong elements of distinct Kerala tradition. These are of special interest. The first design type unique to Kerala is a suspension lamp, the gaja or elephant-shaped lamp. These represent a temple elephant only. Some other examples of suspension oil lamps combine temple models and elephants. This is no doubt because of the immense popularity of a Kerala festival, Pooram, involving great tuskers carrying the temple gods from within the temples to be viewed and to view adoring devotees in throngs, and the daily use of elephants in temple ritual procession. The second of these is the vimana, or temple model design. In these suspension lamps the distinct wooden temple architecture with tile roofing unique to Kerala is represented. This type of oil lamp is only found elsewhere in Nepal although surviving examples there are much later in date, c. 18th century. No studies of Nepalese oil lamps exist. (Figure 24). Raja Kelkar, pioneer in collecting such arts now kept in the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Pune, gathered examples of lamps from Nepal and every part of India, but no vimana lamps from Kerala.1 The third design type represents a divine mythic event. These suspension lamps are some of the oldest oil lamps of Kerala and display excellent miniature narrative relief and threedimensional figures. This type may have been created as early as the 10th century and were no longer made after the 12th century. A very popular fourth design type is the vriksha or tree-shaped oil lamps which are stationary lamps used inside the temple compound. These are original to Kerala and later spread to other regions of India. Older examples of Kerala vriksha lamps run to the inspired and extraordinary. The fifth design type of Kerala oil lamp is the processional vanchi lamp, which is a torch or cresset carried on a long wooden shaft used in certain temple rituals. The upper portion is in the shape of a backwater snake boat, a long canoe traditional in Kerala. In the annual race on the backwaters, such boats are each paddled by up to 100 men. The shape of the boat in the torch is abbreviated in length, but its upturned prow and bow are the same. These torches include birds and galloping horses to suggest swift movement in the celestial realm 1

D. Kelkar, The Light: Lamps of the Temple and the House, Marg 31/3, Treasures of Everyday Art, Kelkar Museum, 1978, pp. 57-71

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Light of Devotion as suggested by Kramrisch.2 There are consistently five (Malayalam anchi) oil cups in the boat (vanchi means boat in Malayalam) to hold large, fat wicks, the number possibly being related to the five senses.3 Vanchi lamps were not created outside Kerala. Below is a partial listing of names in several languages that describe types of oil lamps from Kerala and elsewhere. Some lamps have more than one name, some have different regional names. Each type serves a specific ritual purpose. This list is not exhaustive by any means. Names of Some Oil Lamps Diya, vilakku, deepa or dipa and chirag mean lamp or light. Lamps are of three broad types: suspension (sara, akasha, or thooku) (Figure 25), stationary (kuthu) (Figure 63), or portable (Figure 107). Suspension Lamps gaja elephant (Figure 14) thooku on a chain and plate with multiple wicks vimana temple model (Figure 18) Stationary Lamps agal clay lamps of many designs used in Tamil Nadu in Karthigal Deepam festival in Nov. - Dec., also called deepa patra, leaf-shaped, made with a pinch to hold the wick aidai house lamp with pedestal, many wicks, crowned by a peacock, elephant, snake; can be temple-shaped chuttu encircling lamps fixed on external temple walls on a wooden frame, a vilakku madum- a lamp gallery around a temple on the wall (Figure 3) deepamala garland of lamps often around a temple door dharmavijayastambha/deepastambha stone or wooden column that can be metal encased at temple gate, 40 -150 feet, niches hold earthen or metal lamps, lamp pillar (Figure 64) dishakaval vilakku tall stem lamp with four ordinal wick troughs in lotus design dish used in sorcery kala deepa lamp a stand of stone or metal, burns all day in sanctum, stone lamp

2 3

S. Kramrisch, Unknown India: Ritual Art from Tribe and Village, Philadephia Museum of Art, 1968, p. 94, Figure 126 M. Mukerjee, Metal Craftsmen of India, Anthropological Survey of India, Calcutta: Government of India, 1978, p. 27

20

Classification kavara vilakku branching stationary lamp (like a trident or candelabra but standing) (Figure 78) kindi vilakku shaft and three spouts like a kindi ritual water pot in body shape (Figure 98) Lakshmi, Bomma, or pavai standing female figure holding a leaf-shaped oil cup, often a parrot on her shoulder, sometimes with crossed ankles, lady lamp, statue lamp, donor lamp, beauty lamp (Figure 90) mada or archana niche lamp used for early morning and evening waking the god ritual prayer, in the shape of a pipal leaf (aal deepa) (Figure 54) mayil vilakku peacock lamp (Figure 87) mindavana or vrindavana house lamp, perforated brass with oil bows, lit at dusk inside yatra 4 nila vilakku stationary stem floor lamp, most common sort, large or small, large ones serve as Kathakali stage light lamps, makes faces radiant, also called kali (play) lamp, often topped with a peacock (Figure 83) paathi vilakku lamp with shelf-like tiers, also called thattu vilakku vasthu vilakku used to bless a new house or the bride moving to a new house, simple basic form with 5 wicks, one in each direction of space vriksha/aluvilaku/agwata tree (Figure 63) Portable Lamps arti ritual hand-held lamp waved before deity, or ritual processional lamp carried on the end of a long staff or chain (Figure 107) changalavatta or jyoti or ashtamangala used to ignite other lamps and refurnish with oil or to light the path home for a king after worship (Figure 111) kol vilakku a ladel-like lamp with a vertical handle. The scoop serves as the lamp. The handle has a u-shaped end to facilitate carrying, it is like a torch. (Figure 48) mashal or diqi or divtis temple torch, a portable light used in processions and assemblies5 nagathiri (type of arti) 5 cups, 5 snake heads, like a small cymbal (Figure 102); pancalathi 1 cymbal-like base and handle shape and 5 snake heads with U - open nanda deepa eternal lamp in temple sanctum

4 5

D. G. Kelkar, Lamps of India, New Delhi. Government of India, 2012, Figure 8 Kelkar, Lamps of India, p. 4, Figure 7

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Light of Devotion niranjana deepa (type of arti) evening, domestic prayer lamp ottalathi one snake hood and door handle-shape with cymbal like shape at ends pancarati deepa arti with five wicks (five senses) five oil cup leaves (Figure 104) pavitra auspicious design on top portion of lamp, often a bird (Figure 87) pidi vilakku grasped lamp or hand held, arti, prayer lamp, (Figure 103) ratharathi has three-five tree like limbs ratida deepa for special ceremony of consecration, similar to niranjana but has an animal on the handle thamara vilakku lotus lamp (Figure 51) thoodamani vilakku, a carried suspension lamp on a chain topped by a bird over an oil pot, over a lidded container with a spout for oil and wick, also called keda vilakku, from Tamil Nadu. The oil container fills like a bird feeder.6 trayodasharati deepa has 13 wicks vada vilakku lamp with wick troughs like spouts, a later type of northern oil lamp7 vanchi vilakku five cup, boat- shaped processional lamp or torch on a wooden staff; also called panca diva tige or yatra deepa (Figure 118) While the variety of types of oil lamps is seemingly endless, modern examples often are inventive recombinations of a basic traditional vocabulary of motifs and shapes creating unique examples. But more often, modern lamps simply repeat in mass production the standard traditional types.8 From the great variety of designs, I will focus on 12 traditional types including the five that seem to be exclusively from Kerala. Others are popular in Kerala and in other parts of South India. The following chapters describe and discuss the traditional types classified by their use: Suspension Lamps, of which I discuss three types, Stationary Lamps, of which there are six types described, and Portable Lamps, of which I discuss three types.

6

Kelkar, Lamps of India, p. 93 Kelkar, Lamps of India, p. 85 By the 12th century some lists of lamps by their shape are found in texts, for example the Shambupushpanjali and the Uttarakaranagama. See C. Wessels-Mevissen, Festival Vehicles and Motif Lamps: Reflections on Visual Elements in South Indian Temple Ritual, in A. Michaels (ed.) Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2011, pp. 577-578. 7 8

22

Chapter 3

Suspension Lamps The suspension or hanging oil lamps discussed here are the finest and oldest surviving examples of Kerala creation. While most of the other types of lamps continue to be made today, these sadly are not except for those featuring Gaja-Lakshmi. They are characterized by fine modelling and sometimes narrative mythic scenes. The oil plate is round and shallow with no pinched wick channels as later became the mode. Gaja/elephant-shaped lamps The elephant is the state animal of Kerala. Oil lamps in the shape of an elephant, called gaja vilakku or ana vilakku, are a favorite of medieval Kerala and are not found elsewhere in India in the same form. Well-modelled depictions in bronze of elephants as toys are known from the archaeological site of Daimabad as early as 2000 BCE. Even today Kerala Hindu temples keep a live elephant or if it is a major temple many elephants as it is essential to transport the deity on an elephant in multiple processions daily within and outside the temple. The Tamil tradition of carrying the deity in procession in wooden rathas or chariots pulled by men to carry the large bronze deity is much less practiced in Kerala. The rider represented on Kerala oil lamp elephants is not the God Sashta (also called Ayyapa or Aiyanar) as it is in well-known Tamil bronzes. An example of Sastha mounted on his elephant is a 16th century figure kept in the Government Museum Chennai bronze gallery (Figure 7). Instead of Sastha on Kerala oil lamps the rider is a mahout, the elephant’s keeper and driver, and sometimes a second male, his assistant on the rump just as is seen in temple processions. Kerala temples hold a spectacular annual gathering of temple elephants, as for example at the Thrissur Vadakunatha temple, for a festival called Pooram (Figure 8), which I discuss in detail later. Here I will discuss five examples of splendid elephant-shaped oil lamps. Archaeological Museum, Dadigama, Sri Lanka, elephant-shaped oil lamp This lamp in the shape of an elephant carrying two men has an intriguing history: it was found in 1951 inside the relic chamber of the Sutighara, a royal Buddhist burial mound or stupa in Sri Lanka in Dadigama known to have been built in the late 12th century (Figure 9). Thus, we have a terminus ante quem for this lamp which I will argue was made in Kerala, not Sri Lanka. Rarely do we have evidence to date Kerala sculpture. Other elephant-form oil lamps almost identical to this one were made in Kerala, for example those now in Mumbai, Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram (Figures 11,14,15,17). Most likely this lamp was made in Kerala too and exported to Sri Lanka before 1150. This means it is an example of Chera art. The Dadigama elephant lamp was made to hang on its chain. The elephant alone is 10 inches tall and the whole lamp including the chain and the plate is 50 inches. Over the elephant and his riders is an arched flaming prabha, issued from the gharial-like mouth of a makara, a composite creature, on either side. Pillars with rampant vyalas (composite lion-elephant beasts) support the arch above an elegant footed plate. This notably flat plate is distinct from many later 23

Light of Devotion

Figure 7. Shasta riding his elephant vehicle, Chola, Government Museum Chennai

suspension oil lamps which have a deeper plate for oil, but similar to a few examples, such as the Garuda lamp in the Thrissur State Museum collection (Figure 50). I would identify this detail as a marker of earliest suspension lamps. The flamboyant everted ends of the flaming arched prabha are also distinctive. The long lion tail of the rampant vyala is posed in a neat circle; this is a stylistic detail also seen in lamps in the Thrissur collection such as Gaja-Lakshmi lamp 10/36 (Figure 25). The Dadigama lamp’s suspension chain is decorated with carefully cast images of three small figures: a dancer, a drummer and a cymbals player (Figure 9). Such musicians and dancers would have been a part of a festival procession as they still are today (Figure 3). The end hook of the suspension chain is in the shape of a cobra head. A second hook in the chain above the dancer enables one to suspend the lamp higher. This lamp was found in pristine condition in the relic chamber of the Sri Lankan King Parakramabahu I (reign 1153-86) whose Buddhist burial monument, the Sutigara cetiya at the Kotevehere, is in Dadigama (half way between Colombo and Kandy in Kagalla District). It may have been a gift to the king, enjoyed as an amusing treasure by him and his visitors, and then 24

Suspension Lamps

Figure 8. Pooram festival, Kerala

Figure 9. Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp, Dadigama, Sri Lanka, c. 1100-1150, Archaeological Museum, Dadigama, acc. no. 2.12

25

Light of Devotion buried inside his new royal stupa during the 12th century. The amusing aspect is found in its refill engineering. This lamp has a pressure controlled (hydrostatic) oil reservoir within the body of the elephant. To fill the lamp oil the inverted elephant is turned to release it from the plate. One leg serves as the funnel to fill the body and then the whole is hung from its chain; when the oil level in the plate is low it automatically refills from the elephant’s belly oil reservoir via the elephant’s genital organ (Figure 10). This is a vast improvement over constant hand-feeding of the oil receptacle.1 This is the refill technology of all four elephant lamps: Dadigama, Jogeshvari, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur. Charmingly, the elephant is pulling up a lotus snack to eat from the pond (the oil plate).2 Cultural and trade relations between Sri Lanka and Kerala have historically been Figure 10. hydrostatic oil release close. The distance from Kanyakumari at the southern tip of India to Galle on the west coast of Sri Lanka is only about 200 miles. Until the 10th century, Kerala was predominantly Buddhist. Sri Lanka was and still is predominantly Buddhist. A large Buddhist and Hindu Tamil population lived on the island. In Sri Lanka a major annual festival still occurs in Kandy on the full moon day of August. Called the Perahera, the tooth relic of the Buddha enshrined in the Temple of the Tooth, is carried out of its shrine on the back of a massive elephant amid great fanfare with musicians, dancers and acrobats. The traditional use of elephants in procession from temples in Kerala and in Sri Lanka is to give the blessing of darshan, or viewing god, to the devotees. This relationship of traditions might suggest the reason a Kerala-made oil lamp depicting a great tusker might be an appropriate gift to the Buddhist king of Sri Lanka and might become entombed in a royal Buddhist monument. No other elephant oil lamps like this one are known in Sri Lanka except a ruined one found in the same relic chamber. Beautiful oil 1

O. C. Gangoly, Votive Lamps from Cochin, Rupam 19-20, 1924 Others have suggested that the Dadigama lamp was made in India, but I am the first to find other similar lamps made in Kerala to compare it to. Oil lamps were among the highly valued trade commodities of India. Now in the collection of the Archaeological Museum at Dadigama in Sri Lanka, accession number 2.12. This example has been published often: C. E. Godakumbura, The Kotavehera at Dedigama, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of Ceylon, vol. VII, 1969, p. 55, pls. V-VII; U. von Schroeder, The Golden Age of Sculpture in Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Visual Dharma, 1992, entry 36; also published with a good photo in H. Hartel and J. Auboyer, Indien und Sudostasien, Propyläen-Kunstgeschichte, 16,  Propyläen Verlag, Berlin, 1971. pl.194; and see von Schroeder for other places published; Van Lohuizen de Leeuw, Sri Lanka Ancient Arts, catalog no. 759, figure 76, illustrated, along with other splendid oil lamps including figures 72, a double-sided male-female lamp stand about 13 inches tall, 10th-12th century, 74, 78 which are each like examples from Kerala. A second similar elephant oil lamp was found within the same upper relic chamber, but in deteriorated condition. This elephant oil lamp is referred to as Ath Pahana in D. Parthepan, Pahan: The Traditional Sri Lankan Oil Lamps, Serendib, Jan 2019, Serendib.btoptions.lk. Also published by the present author: C. R. Bolon, Sri Lanka’s Golden Age. Minerva, 1992, p. 9 and C. R. Bolon, Bronze Masterpieces of Sri Lanka, Orientations, 1993, pp. 41-42. 2

26

Suspension Lamps lamps, nonetheless, were made in ancient Sri Lanka. In Sinhalese pahana is the word for oil lamp, and a gift of an oil lamp is standard at a wedding even today. Early historical records establish that Kerala, with her excellent ports, carried on active trade with Sri Lanka, as well as with Judea, Greece, Rome, Phoenicia and later the Arabs, Chinese and Portuguese. Saint Thomas the Apostle came to Kerala in 52 CE. Syrian Orthodox Christians were there by 190 CE. Jews settled here in biblical times. By the 16th century 4000 Jews had settled here and a synagogue was built in 1568. Along with geographic features, profitable trade exporting spices, especially pepper, fabrics, coconuts, coco, coffee, ivory, importing gold and incense contributed to the independent development of Kerala from the rest of India. The north-south barrier of the Western Ghats range of precipitous mountains descending from the Deccan Plateau resulted in an insular community oriented to the sea. The many religions that arrived with the seafaring foreigners created an unusual diversity of religions and ethnicities. Today 20% are Christian, 5% are Muslim and 50% are Hindu, predominantly Vaishnava. Fine ancient examples of oil lamps modeled with figures are known from Sri Lanka, which may have been used in a Buddhist or domestic context or in Hindu temples serving the resident Tamil population. Few, if any, depict Hindu deities or myths. Although this study focuses on Hindu oil lamps of Kerala, there were oil lamps made and used by all religious groups resident there. CSMVS, Mumbai, elephant-shaped lamp found at Jogeshvari, Maharashtra An oil lamp virtually identical to the Sri Lanka elephant lamp, though partially preserved, was found at one of the Jogeshvari rock-cut temples near Mumbai, and is now kept in the collection of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastusangrahalya Museum, Mumbai, (CSMVS, Mumbai, formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India in Bombay, Figure 11-13). No records of the circumstances of its discovery exist. The Buddhist rock-cut temples of Jogeshvari date to the 6th century. Centuries later they were taken over for Hindu worship. The elephant, riders, musicians and dancer on the link chain are very similar to those on the Dadigama oil lamp. The whole length of the Dadigama lamp with its plate is fifty inches while the plateless Jogeshvari lamp measures forty-eight inches, so the sizes are the same.3 Several scholars of Indian art date the Jogeshvari elephant lamp to 12th century and none date it later, which accords with the terminus ante quem of the Dadigama lamp. There are small differences between the Jogeshvari and the Dadigama lamps: the top of the chain of the Jogeshvari lamp has a hook with a kirtimukha (lion-like mask) design, the chain’s links are caste solid, the chain has a second short chain and hook. There is a rope, not a chain, around the elephant’s neck. The left side of the elephant is intact, but the right side now has a cut hole that amputates the elephant’s right head node and allows one to see inside to the filling mechanism. To fill the elephant’s hollow belly with oil you disengage the elephant from the plate by a simple lock mechanism and turn it upside down. The left foot is open and the leg 3 Dadigama published as 8th century in C. Sivaramamurti, South Indian Bronzes, New Delhi, Lalit Kalā Akademi, 1963. pl. 5a, Jogeshvari lamp to Early Western Chalukya, 8th century; Jogeshvari lamp published as 12th century in B.V. Shetti, Animal in Indian Art, Prince of Wales Museum, exhibition catalog, 1977, p. 23 no. 186, illustrated; also published in Khandalava1a, The Great Tradition, p. 86, Figure 17; and in B. V. Shetti, Bronzes from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in A. R. Mathur (ed.), Indian Bronze Masterpieces, 1988, Figure 17, p. 86; CSMVS accession number B84.

27

Light of Devotion

Figure 11. Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp with chain figures, Jogeshvari, c. 1100-1150, CSMVS, acc. no. B84. Courtesy of the Trustees of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya

Figure 12. Chain detail figure 11

is hollow so you can pour the oil in. Its flow out is controlled by hydrostatic pressure. Looking through the hole cut on top, a later dastardly deed, you can see that the hollow leg extends through the belly up to near the back of the elephant but not quite to the top. Just as in the Dadigama lamp, a penile channel in the Jogeshvari lamp allows oil to drip out into the plate and keep it refilled steadily. The elephant’s hide is so carefully modelled that even the pores of the skin of the head and trunk are depicted. The figures on the Jogeshvari chain are, from top to bottom, a male drummer, a female dancer, and a male cymbals player (Figure 12-13). It would seem likely that the same craftsman or shop made both this and the Dadigama lamp.4 Thrissur State Museum elephant-shaped oil lamp from Thripunithura, Kerala A third elephant-shaped oil lamp that hydrostatically refills its oil plate in the same ingenious and highly amusing manner is found in the Thrissur State Museum (number 10/3); this piece is modelled with the same rich volumes as the Jogeshvari and Dadigama examples (Figure 14). In fact, a number of the oil lamps in this remarkable collection include elephants of the same handsome genre as elements of their theme. O. C. Gangoly , illustrated four of them, two elephant, two temple models with beautifully modelled elephants. He did not speculate a date for these pieces however he recorded the provenance of this lamp and four others as 4

Two female dancers from a lamp chain are detached pieces from a lost lamp kept in the Archaeological Museum, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, published in Van Louizen de Leeuw, Sri Lanka Ancient Arts, pp. 76-77.

28

Suspension Lamps

Figure 13. Chain figures detail figure 11

Figure 14. Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/3, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

being from the Paliath Achen (Prime Minister) of Cochin at Thripunithura nearby Kochi and he records these lamps had been used in the temple adjoining the Maharaja’s Palace.5 The resemblance of the Dadigama lamp to both the Thrissur and the Jogeshvari lamps lends further evidence to my argument that the Dadigama lamp was made in Kerala, taken to Sri Lanka and gifted to the 12th century king. I maintain that these three lamps were created in a workshop in Thripunitura no later than the early 12th century. In addition, I assign all the lamps the Kochi minister gave to the Thrissur State Museum (which the Kochi maharaja created in 1885) to that workshop along with two other excellent lamps that were taken to England before 1880 and gifted to the British Museum collection, and will be discussed later (Figures 27, 28, 43, 45). The Thrissur State Museum lamp is an elephant ridden by two men, a mahout holding a goad seated on the elephant’s neck and a small assistant perched on his rump. The elephant swishes his tail, steps forward and pulls up a lotus from the oil pond of the plate which is shallow, round and unfooted but with refined base moldings. It seems to be a consistent stylistic feature that the earliest suspension lamps have an almost flat oil plate. Possibly there once was a lower base which is now lost. The eight-inch-tall elephant is caparisoned modestly whereas the Dadigama and Jogeshvari examples wear a chain around the neck. The Thrissur elephant wears a bell on the rope around his girth and a simpler necklace and head ornament than the well-known gold nettipatan that Kerala temple elephants wear today in procession (Figure 8). The massive 5

Gangoly, Votive Lamps from Cochin, pp. 121-124.

29

Light of Devotion

Figure 15. Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/4, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

chain on this Thrissur example is 35 inches long, has no figures, and is heavily cast. It may be a later replacement for the original. The chain has one large hook. Chain technology varies in these examples of elephant lamps. In this 10/3 Thrissur piece and in the Jogeshvari piece, the chain is joined to the mahout’s head as is another in the Ashmolean Museum collection. There is no prabha arch. For the Dadigama and Thrissur (accession number 10/4) lamps the chain is joined to the apex of the arching prabha.6 Each of the elephants that form these lamps has an aura of grandeur but also spontaneity. They are immensely charming. An inscription on the Thrissur lamp, a later addition, states: Belongs to devaswom no. 84. Palam 9310. Converting the weight mentioned in the inscription it weighs about 16 ½ lbs. Another example in the Thrissur State Museum is an elephant lamp (10/4), which is highly caparisoned with great detail of his headgear-jewelry (a small golden nettipatan) (Figure 15) of the type still worn by elephants today in ritual processions (Figure 16). There is no lotus in his trunk. He may be sucking up water from the pond while a mahout standing by his trunk wields a goad in an attempt to stop him. In this piece the trunk is the refill channel from the oil reservoir in his hollow body to the plate. On the elephant’s back an arched kolam is slightly broken in the top of its arch, but shows a tiny image of the god Shiva in the manner typical even today for the Pooram festival (Figure 16). At the time of this mega-spectacular festival 6

The Thrissur example is previously unpublished. Its total height is 13.75 inches by width of 12.5 inches. Museum records describe it as Thuradu vilakku.

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Figure 16. Temple elephant with caparison jewelry and kolam, Kerala

in Thrissur, the small processional image of the temple deity (thidambu) is placed at the base of a golden shield-like kolam on the biggest tusker. The tradition of that festival may extend 1000 years into the past. In this oil lamp an arch over the elephant’s back is joined to the suspension chain and rather than having the arch end at the elephant’s feet it reaches out to the edge of the plate and is joined there. Over-all the shape is not a simple arch as in the other examples, but is everted at each end. Furthermore, the flames of the arch are double-sided, joined castings, which is unusual. The inscription says that the piece belongs to Cochin (Gift of H. H. Maharaja of Cochin), that it is number 7 of 80 bronzes gifted (inscribed on elephant body), that it has the ratha 26 (weight of Tulum 1, palam 60 equals 2 kg, 8 grams or about 4 lbs., 6 oz).7 I suspect that the flame prabha was soldered on later. This depiction of the caparisoned 7

Published in Gangoly, Votive Lamps from Cochin, Figure 2, called anavilakku, (elephant lamp), but not discussed.

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Light of Devotion elephant with the kolam and thidambu most clearly relates to the Pooram festival, of which the major celebration takes place in April or May each year in Thrissur.

Figure 17. Elephant-shaped suspension oil lamp with Shiva, Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram

Gangoly provides important provenance information in his article in Rupam in 1924 as mentioned. Concerning the four Thrissur State Museum suspension lamps (10/1, 2, 3, 4) he records that they all came from Thripunithura, six miles from Ernakulam, where the ruling family of Kochi lived after the 16th century in a palace adjoining a temple, the Sri Poornathrayesa Temple. Great skill of the craftsman resulted in these extraordinary oil lamps.8 Two of the group Gangoly published are elephantshaped and two are vimana-shaped. (Figures 14, 15, 20, 21). He comments he was not able to acquire photos of other lamps in the Thrissur State Museum to publish.

Great and elite historical families of India parted with their oil lamps in the 1920s when kerosene lamps and electric lamps came to India or later when the British usurped their power or again later when India became politically united as a new nation. The Maharaja of Cochin and his family gave an outstanding collection of ritual bronzes to the Thrissur State Museum in 1960. These are exceptionally fine and early pieces. Elsewhere in Kerala we do not find such stunning figural oil lamps. This part of the tradition seems to be extinct. Also doublesided mythic scenes on lamps, to be discussed further on, are no longer produced in Kerala. Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, elephant-shaped oil lamp In one more example of an elephant-shaped suspension lamp in the collection of the Kuthira Maliga Museum in Thiruvananthapuram the mahout is replaced by Shiva who rides the elephant on the front flanked by two female attendants (Figure 17). This example is doublesided and on the reverse Gaja Lakshmi is lustrated by two small elephants within a perfect inverted U-shaped, pierced arch. The super-elaborate double-sided flaming prabha is densely ornamented and is much more elaborate as part of the lamp than the simple method of joining the chain in Thrissur 10/3 (Figure 14) in which there is no prabha and the chain joins the mahout’s head. Here in more southerly Thiruvananthapuram within the flaming outer arch another arch is hung with a web of flower garlands (as seen in Figure 62). The oil plate is very 8

Gangoly, Votive Lamps from Cochin

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Suspension Lamps simple supported by a modest foot. The elephant wears no jewelry. This example may be quite early in date judging by the simple flat plate, simple foot, brilliantly cast double-sided imagery, and great dignity of the figures.9 One more elephant oil lamp has partially survived and is now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford to be discussed in chapter 6 (Figure 123). A bronze Chola 13th century elephant from the former Bickford collection has most of the same details as the Kerala elephants including the trunk snatching a lotus, the jewelry, the mahout assistant, and a large penis, but the sensitivity and charm of the modeling of the Kerala elephants is not there. There is no evidence that it was joined to an oil plate.10 From other regions of India and later periods there are other lamps that incorporate an elephant usually in a stationary lamp design with a Deepalakshmi standing on an elephant’s back.11 But suspended elephants as oil lamps like these are no longer made and were apparently only made in the Kochi area in early medieval times, probably in the 12th century, possibly earlier, during the rule of the Chera Perumals. Before leaving the subject of temple elephants used as processional vehicles, I will briefly note the existence of another ritual object, often misunderstood, which is impressive large arches (prabha) up to 5 feet tall. The assumption is often that these are parts disassociated from large bronze depictions of deities which they typically frame elsewhere in India.12 Large kolam frames or prabha flaming arches are now made of wood, covered with flowers, and mounted on the processional elephant’s back, but in earlier times the arch over the small deity on the elephant’s back was made of bronze. They never were a surrounding part of a large temple icon as is typical in Chola bronzes and images from other regions of India. This is not to say that there are not Kerala bronzes deities made with such an arch, but they are later examples under Nayak influence. Vimana vilakku/ Temple model-shaped lamps Suspension oil lamps designed as temple models, called vimana or gopura vilakku, are only found in the Thrissur State Museum collection in all of India (Figures 18-22). The tile-roofed wooden temples depicted may have once existed nearby (Figure 23). In the later art of Nepal lamps designed as temple models exist, but in India these are unique to Kerala and earlier (Figure 24).13 In those Nepali examples the oil is held in small cups, not in a base plate like early Kerala examples and they do not include human figures, though some have monkeys, birds or dragons. Though many traditional and ancient types of oil lamps continue to be made and used in Kerala, temple-shaped lamps are not. 9

For a late and degenerated version of the elephant suspension lamp from Kerala see Anderson, Flames of Devotion, Figure 25, 53. 10 S. Czuma, Indian Art from the George Bickford Collection, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975, Figure 20, other Chola elephants with Shasta as a rider that are not a lamp are in the Government Museum, Chennai. 11 Kelkar, Lamps of India, Figures 74 -75. 12 O’Ferrall, The Spirit of India: A Survey of Indian Art. Art Gallery of Western Australia. Wescolour Press 1984, p. 44. This 36-inch-tall example is now in the Honolulu Museum of Art. 13 Gangoly, Votive Lamps from Cochin, p. 123 noted this similarity of Kerala and Nepalese temple model-shaped lamps and their wooden architecture.

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Light of Devotion The largest vimana lamp in the Thrissur collection (10/34 is written in white paint on it) is a barrel-vaulted two-story temple model with three suspension chains (Figures 18, 19). Despite its size, the casting is not thick. It measures 28 inches height by 16 depth and weighs 38 kg. or about 83.7 lbs. It was the gift from the devaswom board in 1960. Its size makes it a major lamp of the kind that would hang before the temple’s sanctum. There are legends about such lamps.14 The Kerala style wood and tile-roofed temple depicted in the lamp is two-storied and open. Miniature figures enliven the temple setting. The front upper level represents Kiratarjuniya: Shiva confronts Arjuna. Below this, Arjuna sits enthroned holding his long bow, being worshipped by a monkey and attended on either side by hunters. On the reverse Arjuna is competing with Shiva, who is in disguise, to hunt the boar, and on the lower level of the temple on its right edge the penance of Arjuna is represented (Figure 19). The figures are three- dimensional. Each level of the temple is like a broad stage to carry the mythic event, which is represented in its narrative moments.

Figure 18. Temple-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/34, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

A round hole in the shallow oil plate once held a small three-dimensional figure, which, in other intact examples, is Ganesha, Shiva, an elephant, Krishna, Ardhanarishvara, or other deities. The three suspension chains are remarkable because they are formed of continuous links cast in a single mold. At the top of the chain is a figure of Vishnu. The bronze lamp in the form of a two-story wooden temple, raised from the wick and oil container by two pairs of horses and hanging from continuous chain links cast in a single mold, once glowed in the central shrine of a temple. With its lion masks, curling finials, roof tiles and crowd of worshippers, the lamp transports one to Kerala, where such scenes are part of life. The squat, spirited figures and folkish energy are typical of Kerala bronze sculpture, as is the rugged patination suggestive of black earth.15 Stuart Cary Welch dated this vimanashaped lamp to the 15th century, whereas I would place it several centuries earlier. This noble, ambitious, abundantly ornamented, extremely animated lamp is the work of an outstanding metal artist. 14 15

Bayi, Thulasi Garland. Welch, India: Art and Culture, p. 35, ill. 6.

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Figure 19. Arjuna and Shiva hunting a boar, detail of Figure 18

Competing for the title of masterpiece is a second architectural model oil lamp in the Thrissur collection, referred to as a vimana or gopura vilakku 20). This lamp (Thrissur 10/2) is not only a masterpiece among Kerala temple oil lamps but of world art, though it is not the largest example (height 23.5 inches by diameter 25 inches). Besides the wondrous miniature figures and architectural details of this Kerala style wooden Hindu temple model, there are four elephants attended by mahouts (each 3.5 inches tall) standing on its base oil plate facing the four quadrants of space. The plate has four lotus ponds and is not round but patterned and shaped with land, the temple courtyard, between the ponds. The elephants are not architectural elements of the temple, but lively temple elephants who snack on lotus stalks snatched from the pond. Four three-inch chains suspended the lamp from the roof corners, while monkeys play on the roof corners, and four elephants stand by the temple base in the tank. A snake slithers out of the shrine into the pond; from the oil reservoir in the temple body the hydrostatic drip of oil comes into the plate from the mouth of the snake. Sausage curls of hair of the male deity is another charming detail. Oil once filled the tank so wicks burned at their three curved projections. Miniature dvarapalas guard the temple’s four entrances. Ganesha can be seen within the sanctum through one entrance and the other two garbha grihas bear Shiva with Parvati and Shasta. Vyalas and simhas decorate the corners of the first floor and serve as peripheral supports. Under this lively miniature scene is a round foot pierced with a frieze of birds. No other lamp I have seen is this elaborate.

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Figure 20. Temple-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/2, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

36

Suspension Lamps The four elephants modelled on this piece are of the same age, sensitivity and liveliness as the elephants in the previously described elephant-shaped oil lamps of Thrissur, Jogeshvari and Dadigama. This lamp could thereby date as early as 12th century CE.16 A Malayalam inscription in one of the oil ponds belongs to the same period (copied, unread). This lamp was a gift to the museum, which was built in 1885, by the H. H. Maharaja of Cochin. A later inscription on this oil lamp, 10/2 masterpiece two-story temple model, records that it is number 1 of 80 of devaswon board of Cochin, weighing tulam three, palam 70 ¼ (one palam is 1/100 of a tulam). Devaswom (Sanskrit: Property of God) are socio-religious trusts in India that comprise members nominated by both government and community. Their aim is to manage Hindu temples and their assets and to ensure their smooth operation in accordance with traditional rituals and customs. This large lamp weighs almost 64 pounds. Its patina is a luscious chocolate brown. Another lamp in the Thrissur collection is of utmost refinement and liveliness (lot 10, number 1) (Figures 21, 22). It is simpler than the masterpiece just described. It represents a square temple of 2 stories with lion brackets at corners, an elephant under each, four arching gavakshas, stairs to each of the four sanctum entrances, sporting ganas, three chains (fourth one gone), with a large artichoke-like lotus on the chain and at the bottom a pierced plate edge above a simple base molding. The open sanctum doors reveal Shiva in the main shrine, holding a trident and an axe and making anjali mudra, while seated in the pose of royal ease. Ganesha is seen in the back shrine and above Ganesha is Yogapatta Narasimha. A Shiva or Vishnu is on the right side and Brahma on the left in the center of each second story wall. The cast three-dimensional images of Shiva and Ganesha in the sanctum were somehow inserted. It seems that the top roof was cast separately and joined later after the deity was in place or perhaps, they were added by way of the base. The base foot is cast separately as is the upper roof. Lion brackets adorn each corner with an elephant bust under each. Although the details are less crisply cast, this lamp seems to be a member of an early group. The temple base moldings are simple and handsome very like those of an early Chalukya temple of the 7-8th century in Karnataka. The casting of the earlier lamps is thinner, lighter and more refined than that of later lamps which become thick, heavy, massive and even ponderous. Gangoly, 1924, provides provenance for this piece and praise for its workmanship.17 Thrissur lot 10, number 1 weighs 19 kg, or 41.88 pounds and measures 22 inches in height including a four-inch foot, while the temple itself is 18 inches in height.

16

Published in J. H. Cousins The Craft of the Metal-worker in S. Kramrisch, ed. The Arts and Crafts of Kerala, Paico Publishing House, Cochin, 1970, Figure lx, but not discussed in text, called gopura vilakku, 16th century; Gangoly, Votive Lamps from Cochin, provides its provenance from the royal family of Cochin (Thripunithura) to the Thrissur State Museum. 17 Gangoly, Votive Lamps from Cochin, p. 122. S. Natesan says (personal communication) that Thrissur flat plate lamps are earliest c. 12th century

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Figure 21. Temple-shaped suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/1, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 22. Deity in sanctum, detail of Figure 21, Thrissur State Museum 10/1 Department of Archaeology, Kerala

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Figure 23. Vadakunathan Shiva temple, Thrissur, Kerala

Gaja Lakshmi The elephant and vimana-shaped lamps discussed are all suspension lamps which were used to illuminate the sanctum or mandapa areas of temples. Other suspension lamps have common themes such as Gaja Lakshmi, or unique mythic themes that may be simple or complex. In fact, it seems that suspension or hanging oil lamps (Sara or Akasha) are the most diverse in subject of any of the many types of lamps. They are often figural and many represent the gods in narrative mythic relief imagery. Three examples of suspension lamps with relief images of Gaja Lakshmi are found in the Thrissur State Museum collection, numbers 10/36, 10/5, 12/12 (Figures 25, 26, 29). Lakshmi sits in the center flanked by two elephants, each of which pours water from a lota held in the trunk over her head to lustrate her. The most impressive example is double-sided (10/36, Figures 25, 26). Its main theme is Shiva Kudumban, the representation of Shiva with his family, but the ingeniously pierced casting reveals a Gaja Lakshmi on the reverse with musicians and dancers to either side of her throne (Figure 25). The concentrated simplicity and the mastery of all details, plus the shallow, almost flat oil plate and patination suggest an early date, perhaps 12th century. The piece was gifted to the devaswom board on Feb. 2, 1960 from H.H. Maharaja of Cochin. This lamp is bell metal, an alloy of 80% copper 20% tin and a little lead and zinc which looks like bronze. It has a low damping quality, that is it won’t collapse easily, and is used especially for bells.

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Light of Devotion In the lamp’s depiction of Gaja Lakshmi, Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune, is bathed or lustrated, made shiny by elephants giving her a shower of cosmic energy. Lakshmi represents the glory of good fortune, lady luck, is the guardian of home life and she is the shining one. It is therefore not surprising that lamps used to dispel darkness, to eradicate ignorance and evil, to illuminate the dark should popularly bear Gaja Lakshmi. The elephants raise their trunks to pour lotas, pots, of water, over her. Elephants with raised trunk are commonly a symbol of good luck. Of the two lotus flowers she held in either hand one is broken off. The decorative bands or registers of this prabha are simple compared to that of a 14th century lamp in the Honolulu Museum of Art (Figure 38). Most endearing about this early lamp are the rampant lion and sphinx (human-faced lion) with a notable style element of tails forming a circle Figure 24. Temple-shaped suspension oil lamp, that connect the lower plate to the upper Nepal, 19th century, Courtesy of the Trustees of the image surrounded by a flaming arch or Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya, prabha. The relative thinness of the metal 22.2316, 21.75 by 13.5 inches, Sir Ratan Tata and the absence of a figure in the center of Art Collection the oil plate are also early features of this lamp, which could date as early as 10th century or as late as 12th century. Many later lamps depict Gaja Lakshmi but they are less refined. The main side of the same lamp (10/36) represents Shiva Kudumban, while Gaja Lakshmi is adjoined on the back. Within a flaming arched vertical plate Shiva enthroned has his tiny Shakti seated on his folded left thigh. This theme may be a unique relief representation on a Kerala lamp (Figure 26). To the divine couple’s left their son, Kartikeya, god of war, rides his peacock forth into our space, and is balanced on the right by a second male figure. The vertical plate is elevated above the simple horizontal oil plate by one simhavyala (lion-bodied sphinxlike being) and one gajavyala (lion-bodied, elephant-headed creature), with tails curled in perfect circles as supports. The deities are framed by a simple flaming arch joined to a figureless hooked chain. Some outer flames of the elaborate pierced arch are broken off, a detail which will become a recognizable trait to group a number of lamps to one workshop, metal compound and age. The ambitious but understated charm of the figures, the simple base moldings and figured chain suggest an early date, perhaps 10-12th century. 40

Suspension Lamps

Figure 25. Gaja Lakshmi suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/36 (reverse of Figure 26), Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 26. Shiva Kudumban suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/36 (reverse of Figure 25), Department of Archaeology, Kerala

This lamp (10/36) seems to belong to a group including five others, that are so similar in design elements, style and quality that it may be considered that they were each created at nearly the same time and by excellent craftsmen of one workshop in the region of Kochi. An emblematic detail of this group is the round vertical fan-like bit at the top center of the arch with the chain hole right above it. Of the other related examples two are in the Thrissur State Museum, one is in Honolulu Museum of Art and two are in the British Museum, London. I will return to discussion of these. One of the British Museum oil lamps bears Gaja Lakshmi on one side, pierced and joined to Krishna on the other (Figures 27, 28). This lamp is of the Thrissur type. It joined the British Museum in 1880. Lakshmi is bare-breasted on a vertical relief plate elevated from the oil plate by leaping composite beasts, with flower garlands filling the arched prabha. While the British Museum dates the lamp to 16th-17th century, I would place it into the 12th century or earlier. Another very fine example of an early Gaja Lakshmi oil lamp is Thrissur 12/12 however only its semicircular vertical portion has survived; the oil plate, prabha and chain are lost. It bears a relief depiction of Gaja Lakshmi on the front and a narrative design on the back (7.25 inches square) (Figures 29, 30). The tiny goddess, seated in yogasana, is well modelled. Her dignified 41

Light of Devotion

Figure 27. Krishna Fluting, suspension oil lamp, British Museum 1880.4063, (reverse of Figure 28), height 12.5 inches by diameter 10.75, Gift of Richard Payne Knight in 1824, Photo courtesy British Museum

Figure 28. Gaja Lakshmi, suspension oil lamp, British Museum 1880.4063 (reverse of Figure 27), Photo courtesy British Museum

square-jawed face suggests an early date compared to later examples that are more pinched in facial features with a slit mouth. The details of this miniature representation are wonderful: she holds a lotus by the stalk in each hand which grows from a stream beneath her which is populated by turtles and fish. Musicians play to either side. A lit nila vilakku is seen to either side of her and her crown is the bulbous crown often seen in Kerala imagery.18 We also note that like her sisters in other early Thripunithura pieces she does not wear a kuchabandha (breast band) which is introduced later. In all respects this fragment is typical of the early school of what I think of as the Thripunithura workshop. As a comparison to the piece just described, Thrissur State Museum 10/5 is a suspension lamp with a relief depiction of Gaja Lakshmi on the obverse (Figures 31, 32). Kartikeya (Subramanya) and Ganesha figures are hinged on the chain each with its own prabha. The hinging of the chain is a new technical feature where previously chain links were interspersed sometimes with a few musicians and dancers. This lamp is discussed by O.C. Gangoly.19 He records he was delighted to be provided with five photographs of lamps in the Thrissur State Museum. He published numbers 10/1-5. He discusses this Gaja Lakshmi lamp, figure 1, first which is this museum number 10/5. He notes it is later in date than the other four, but is also from Thripunithura. Unfortunately, he did not share his thoughts or facts further about its date. However, we notice important technical changes in its lamp design features: the lamp’s oil 18 19

cf. Pal, The Elegant Image, pl. 98. Gangoly, Votive Lamps from Cochin, Figure 1, p. 122.

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Figure 29. Gaja Lakshmi, part of a suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 12/12 (reverse of Figure 30), Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 30. Processional scene, part of a suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 12/12 (reverse of Figure 29), Department of Archaeology, Kerala

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Figure 31. Gaja Lakshmi suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/5 (reverse of Figure 32), Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 32. Foliate design on suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/5 (reverse of Figure 31), Department of Archaeology, Kerala

dish is raised on a base foot with moldings whereas there was no base in what I believe to be earlier pieces, such as Gaja Lakshmi in the British Museum, 1880.4063 (Figure 28). The standard three-dimensional image in the middle of the oil plate (figures of an elephant or deities), often removed by collectors, is dropped as a feature. Instead, it has been revamped into a kind of raised pedestal to support the semicircular vertical plate bearing the relief of the goddess. This way the figure cannot be detached and disassociated from the lamp. Therefore, the pedestal obviates the role of the charming rearing vyalas f earlier plates placed on either side to raise the relief plate. They are no longer needed and are not a part of the new design. The prabha is no longer arched, but semicircular. In fact, there is no breakage of the flames of the prabha because the stronger metal is a different composition, which is apparent from its sheen. The heavy metal and the style indicate a later date for the piece. The breakage pattern of the outer flame band of several early lamps unites them as a group, and this lamp is not in that group (Figures 25, 27, 43). I suspect the heavy chain sometimes hit that outer flame band and broke it. The simple chain of links for suspension is now replaced by a new technology of hinged images of Ganesha and Kartikeya, each of which is given great detail and its own prabha. The main prabha is broad and frames the elephants that lustrate Lakshmi. On the reverse of her figure is a stylized foliate design (Figure 32) rather than a figure. The front and back are pierced and their designs coordinated. An inscription states that it Belongs to Kochi (royal family) and 44

Suspension Lamps records its weight: Tulum 9, palam 4, 43.6 tulum,9 (that is 7 kg., 900 grams or about 16 pounds) bronze no. 4 of 80. An excellent hanging lamp in the Napier Museum (Acc. No. 322, 15.5 by 8 inches), shares features with the example in Thrissur 10/5 that Gangoly recorded as later and similarly bears Gaja Lakshmi with elephants flanking her and bathing or lustrating her with water from their trunks, the figures of which have a particular liveliness (Figure 33). Comparing her refined, rounded features to the previous example we might think this is an earlier piece. The other possibility is simply that it is the artwork of another workshop of more talented craftsmen. As the mode of hanging lamps develops, the chains become more elaborated with interspersed figures each becoming more enhanced with their own features such as the prabha around Garuda and Ganesha above him which is highly ornamented. The lamp measures 15.5 x 8 inches. Another difference in this piece compared to the earlier Thrissur examples is that the leaping vyalas that elevated the deity are Figure 33. Gaja Lakshmi suspension oil lamp, Napier gone, as is also true for Thrissur 10/5. The Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 322 three-dimensional deity in the center of the earlier oil plates (often missing) is no longer a feature, as mentioned. Rather, Gaja Lakshmi herself is sitting on a lower central daislike a pedestal. Other closely related later lamps are in the Natesan collection (Figure 34). Later does not imply degeneration, but only advancing design and technology. The quality of the figure casting is excellent. Another later technical solution to the problem of the detachable and stolen or otherwise removed plate figures is one wherein a long horizontal stage is inserted into the center of the plate, raised on a kind of dais, for example Figures 33, 34. Mythic Depictions Padmanabhaswamy Hindu Kerala mainly worships Vishnu. The tutelary form of Vishnu in Thiruvananthapuram is Padmanabhaswamy. The sanctum deity of the royal temple in Thiruvananthapuram is an amazing 18 foot long reclining Padmanabhawamy (Figure 37). A wonderful group of early 45

Light of Devotion suspension lamps represent the same complex mythic moment of Vishnu as Padmanabhaswamy in miniature reliefwork. A complex and classically handsome suspension lamp is Thrissur State Museum no.10/35, representing the myth of Vishnu Padmanabhaswamy (Figure 35-36). While it is not a vimanashaped lamp, its main imagery inside a horseshoe-shaped vertical plate, includes a low relief, two-storied wooden temple. From within the tile-roofed temple a dozen or more figures seem to push forth into our space. (Another similarly architecturally framed fragment of an oil lamp from Thrissur (10/12, Figure 124) presents Vishnu’s ten avatars.) On the front of this semi-circular, cast bronze, double-sided plate, figures of goddesses, rishis, musicians and dancers flank Vishnu reclining on the endless serpent Ananta as Padmanabhaswamy (Vishnu as the lord from whose navel arises a lotus bearing Brahma), to represent the whole cosmic event wherein Vishnu Figure 34. Gaja Lakshmi suspension oil lamp, c.14th dreams the new creation while sleeping century, height 15 inches, Natesan Collection, Mumbai on Ananta, floating on the great flood between creations. Brahma, the creator god, rises from the navel of Vishnu seated on an umbilical cord-like lotus stalk to begin the event. It is the birth of a new cosmic era. The scene, staged within the relief depiction of the forecourt of a two-story temple, represents the event in great detail including serpent or naga hoods over Vishnu’s head. Overlapping figures define the space, as is true of more ancient relief carving for example that seen on the stupa railings and gateways at Sanchi (1st century BCE). The same compositional strategies employed there are here such as importance indicated by size of the figure: Vishnu is largest, Shri and Bhudevi are smaller, bearded rishis are yet smaller. A chorus of five musicians and dancers form a row behind Anantasesha, the endless serpent, balanced by five cobra hoods to the right. Vishnu’s left arm is swept over his head in sleep exactly as it is in the image in the sanctum of the Padmanabhaswamy temple, with his hand resting on top of a Shiva linga (Figure 37). A lotus stalk and flower bearing Brahma rises up to be framed within a gavaksha arch or gabled dormer frame. The flaming prabha is partially obscured by the temple’s tiled roofs. The intact chain bears a kirtimukha, a lion-like face, at the joint to the lamp. On the reverse of this double-sided lamp is Gaja Lakshmi. This charming piece combines three types of lamps seen separately in others from Thripunitura: elephant, temple model, and epic narrative on a double-sided lamp. It was part of the large 46

Suspension Lamps

Figure 35. Padmanabhaswamy suspension oil lamp, Figure 36. Foliate design on reverse, Thrissur State Thrissur State Museum 10/35, Department of Museum 10/35 (reverse of Figure 35), Department Archaeology, Kerala of Archaeology, Kerala

group of lamps and sculptures acquired from the devaswom board of Thripunithura temple. This is the most interesting of the group and the most extensively detailed in iconography. It is in excellent condition, complete and intact with all its parts. Padmanabhaswamy, Vishnu who has a lotus navel, or whose navel is the World Lotus, is the paramount/tutelary deity of the great Thiruvananthapuram temple, the Padmanabhaswamy temple and the ancient regional royal tutelary deity as mentioned. Some have suggested that this myth of Vishnu Anantasyayana was favored in Kerala where the ocean is always in view or nearby. In fact, in the legend of the creation of Kerala the land is reclaimed from the ocean. While entry to the temple sanctum is restricted to only Hindus, a postcard of the deity in the sanctum shows us the same scene (Figure 37). The main idol is huge,18 feet in length, and is said to be made of 1008 Shailgram stones, arranged in the shape of the reclining lord, and pasted, and covered by an ayurvedic adhesive mixture called Katusarkaram. Shaligram refers to a black stone with a fossilized shell used in South Asia as a symbol of the God Vishnu as the Universal Principle by Hindus. They are collected from rivers such as the Gandaki in Nepal for their special powers.

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Figure 37. Postcard of Padmanabha in Padmanabhaswamy temple sanctum, Thiruvananthapuram, length 18 feet

The sanctum image reminds us of the highly dramatic representation of the same god, a colossal bronze, once floating in an actual lake (symbolic ocean), the Western Mebon, in the ancient Khmer kingdom of Angkor, cast in the later 11th century, or an 18-foot-long Vishnu carved of basalt stone, reclining in a dramatic setting in a pond on the serpent Ananta at Budhanilkantha Bhuijashi Narayan Temple in Nepal, dated to the 7th century.20 Features that suggest an early date are several: double-sided imagery, light casting, simple moldings of the plate and no foot, a complicated mythic staging in relief, and a flaming prabha around the lamp that had one row of flames cast in three dimensions while others are in low relief. Later the casting becomes heavy, moldings are rounded, a foot is added, the epic scene is streamlined, the flaming prabha becomes major and complex. Another early feature is the human-faced leaping lions on either side of the plate that support what is above, as does the elephant’s back (Figure 36). The lions are double-sided with delightful humanized faces on both sides and tails curled into a perfect circle. The excellently modelled three dimensional three-inch-tall temple elephant in the center of the round oil plate pulls a lotus from the oil pond. The back side of the cosmic scene is designed with a fantastic, sinuous tree (an axis mundi?) with typical heartshaped leaves. Parts of the work are pierced through to the front. We admire the artist’s great skill and ingenuity.

20

H. Jessup (ed.), Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia, National. Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.,1997, Figure 68, pp. 257-259.

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Figure 38. Padmanabha suspension oil lamp, Honolulu Museum of Art, 14th century, height 15.25 inches, diameter 12 inches, Gift of Christensen Fund, 2001 (10773.1) (reverse of Figure 39) Photo courtesy Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawaii

Figure 39. Vishnu on Garuda, suspension oil lamp, Honolulu Museum of Art (reverse of 38)

The early Vishnu Anantasyin lamp described above can be profitably compared to an excellent lamp with the same icon and general shape to gain a perception of the history of lamp development. A suspension lamp in the Honolulu Museum of Art has been published twice as 14th century (Figures 38-39).21 This double-sided suspension lamp represents a development beyond the Thrissur lamp with Anantasyin (Figure 35). It is exquisitely worked, and figural scenes are cast back-to-back to form the semicircular, or really semi-oval portion of the lamp. The round oil plate has a double-sided figure in the center of Ganesha on one side and Krishna playing flute standing between his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama on the other side (Figures 38-39). It is of interest that this Krishna does not cross his left foot over his right ankle as is standard later iconography, but like the British Museum’s oil lamp bearing Krishna, he stands on both feet and seems to dance (cf. Figure 27). Highly animated leaping vyalas and gajasimhas support the upper semi-oval portion and connect it to the edges of the oil plate.

21

N. H. Dowling, A New Era of Commitment to South Asian Art. Orientations, December, pp. 50-57. Padmanabha, 14.7 inches H., double-sided, Figures 2a-2b and two other citations; O’Ferrall, The Spirit of Indian Art, pp. 48-51. Padmanabhaswamy Vishnu suspension lamp with chain. Gift of the Christensen Fund in 2001, (10773.1) height 15.25 inches diam. 12 inches.

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Light of Devotion Rather than 14 figures seen in the Anantasyin scene in the Thrissur lamp, here the scene is abbreviated to six: Vishnu reclining on the serpent in the company of Bhu and Sri Devi, two attendants, and Brahma rising on a lotus from Vishnu’s navel. Vishnu lies supine with one relaxed arm thrown overhead, on the bed formed of the cushion-like folds of the serpent’s body. His consorts sit, flanking him, on the same. Six curved flaming registers behind the main scene form the half-oval prabha which is pierced and shared by the figures on the reverse. Whereas the earlier Thrissur lamp was not totally pierced and bore a tree on the reverse, here on the reverse a figure group of Vishnu riding Garuda is flanked by Shri and Bhu. To the right are Sita and Hanuman, to the left Rama and Lakshmana holding long bows. Although still an early example, I believe the Thrissur State Museum example, in its simplicity of design (one side given imagery) and its complication on the one side with a large figure group of fourteen is earlier than Honolulu’s lamp. Later, as seen in Honolulu, the semi-oval prabha becomes a dominant feature and the architectural framing of the temple is dropped. The footless flat base plate has very simple moldings. A legend from the Shiva Mahadeva temple at Ettumanoor in Kottayam district is quoted by Princess Lakshmi Bayi in Thulasi Garland, in which she records a treasure-trove of local temple histories regarding the huge suspension lamp hung by the food-offering altar (2. 334-335): a metalsmith brought a huge lamp to the temple as a gift. The temple administration refused the gift, which required three liters of oil to be full, due to that expense and the insufficient temple funds to support the oil to burn the 1amp.The metalsmith said, “Maybe this lamp will burn without oil.” A stranger then came out from the temple, took the lamp and hung it up. Thunder cracked, lightning flashed, the lamp was burning, full of oil, and in fact overflowing. It is believed the craftsman was a deity, probably the temple deity, Shiva. This lamp has been burning for 400 years, since c. 1600 when the temple was new. Today pouring oil into the Valla Kita Vilakku (big, eternal lamp) is one of the major offerings of enduring efficacy.22 This legend reminds us of the story of the oil that fueled the Jews’ Hanukkah miracle. That Sunday evening that marks the beginning of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, Jews celebrate their victory over a tyrant king and the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem. As the story goes, a small quantity of oil to light the temple’s menorah miraculously lasted eight days. These two lamps depicting Sri Padmanabhaswamy, chosen deity of the royal family of Thiruvananthapuram, might suggest that they were royally patronized or that they were made for royal donation to the temple.23 The Lakshadeepam (1 lakh/100,000 lamps) festival in Thiruvananthapuram on January 14 marks the grand finale of a yajna (sacrifice) wherein Sri Padmanabhaswamy is adored at the temple in Thiruvananthapuram by the lighting of 100,000 lamps. This occurs at the temple every six years and occurred in 2020. It is a spectacular event which lights the sky.24 The oil lamps discussed thus far give a sense of the brilliant manner in which Kerala metal craftsmen represented the unique elements of Kerala religion and culture in their creations. It should be noted that the same mythic scene of Padmanabhaswamy is found frequently 22

Bayi, Thulasi Garland, pp. 334-5 concerns the temple at Ettumanoor. Bayi, Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple 24 www.indiavideo.org, Lakshadeepam, https://, New Delhi, InvisMultimedia, March 25, 2014. 23

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Figure 40. Padmanabha carved on wood temple part, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai

represented in carved and painted wooden images on temples or removed and kept in art collections. In an example in a Chennai private collection (Figure 40) the smiling, reclining blue lord bears a lively lotus flower from his navel with the four heads of Brahma arranged in a horizontal line. A festival may be represented in another Thrissur lamp. The  Alpashy  festival in October/ November and the Panguni festival in the Tamil month Panguni, March/April, each last for 10 days. On the ninth day the Maharaja of Travancore, in his capacity as head of the royal family, escorts the deities on foot to the vettakkalam for Pallivetta, a symbolic hunt during which he shoots a coconut with a bow and arrow. The festivals culminate with the  Aarattu  (holy bath) procession to the Shankumugham beach. The word  Aarattu  refers to the purificatory immersion of the deities of the temple in the sea in the evening. The festival idols, utsava vigrahas, of Padmanabhaswamy, Narasimha Moorthi and Krishna Swami are given a ritual bath in the sea after the prescribed pujas. After this ceremony, the idols are taken back to the temple in a procession that is lit by traditional torches, called vanchi, marking the conclusion of the festival.25 The festival and ocean bath gains meaning from the temple’s deity, the tutelary deity of the royal family, Padmanabhaswamy, who reclines on Ananta floating in the ocean. During this procession elephants carry the deities in a portable form, and the raja is carried 25

Bayi, Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple

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Light of Devotion in a palanquin. The god is carried into the ocean on a palanquin. Vanchi torches light the royal path.26 This festival procession may be the subject of a lamp in the Thrissur State Museum collection. It is a truly unique narrative oil lamp depiction of a temple procession on a fragmentarily preserved suspension lamp. This is a most provocative and enigmatic relief scene surviving as a portion of an oil lamp in the State Museum in Thrissur (Figure 30). This broad arched semicircular piece of a suspension oil lamp was originally the part above the oil plate (the plate, any arch or chain there may have been are lost). The obverse is carved with figures. Since suspension, or hanging, lamps were also made in parts, often parts of a whole lamp survive in isolation, as in this case. The earliest of these suspension oil lamps, this being an example, have highly individual relief cast figural scenes, whereas later they become a standard type organized around a central figure usually of Gaja Lakshmi. In this State Museum example, a one-of-a-kind scene is depicted. Here we see four warriors or heroes hoisting swords or clubs overhead and carrying round shields, preceding a palanquin borne by two bearers. Riding in the palanquin is a youthful male figure reclining with his head on one hand, gazing at us. Four more warriors follow. Heads of three more attendants create a second row of figures in perspectival depth. One on the viewer’s left turns toward the palanquin and waves a large palm frond-like fan toward the rider (alavattam). An enormous umbrella seems to float over the man in the palanquin. There is a large tree with heart-shaped leaves growing in the center behind the rider. Its branches gracefully descend fanning out sideways, filling the space of the broad arch. Four birds are perched in its branches, two to either side. The two directly above the rider peck at a bud (?). The leaf shape is apparently important, because the leaves are magnified in size and are seen in frontal view with great clarity. This arch is inscribed at the upper right and left within the smooth area between two beaded bands of decoration but the inscription is unread. I would suggest that this unique lamp may have been made as early as the 10th century, by reason of its original and delightful depiction, its overall broad shape which is not typical and its simple decorative bands. My interpretation of this interesting scene, though speculative, would be that the young Krishna is being transported from his residence as the sacred spirit of the tree, in the body of the king, carried by royal guards to the temple for an occasion of special worship. It could be the moment in Kerala history when religious philosophy is, for the first time, being creatively imagined and represented in art, at least in bronze (so much earlier wood carving and painting being lost). Symbolism was being devised to express deep philosophical meanings of Vaishnava faith in its unique Kerala manifestation. The procession is similar to that seen today at the annual festival of ritual bathing of the temple deity, Padmanabhaswamy, in the ocean. It is not surprising that a private collection in Chennai preserves a carved wood post with a very similar depiction of a deity or king being carried in a palanquin procession. The imagery we are studying in metal cast oil lamps had no doubt been previously devised in wood. In its upper register is depicted the Shiva temple to which the group proceeds. Before the shrine of Shiva, a woman emerges from a pot. It is a most intriguing narrative (Figure 41) and reminds us of the great tradition of sculpture in wood for temples of Kerala. No wood carvings that survive are thought to be earlier than the 16th and 17th centuries. No doubt they did exist 26

The festival can be viewed on video occurring at the Guruvayoor Pallivetta in 2013: Highness studio, Guruvayoor Pallivetta 2013, YouTube video, 9:23, 3/6/13, https://youtube/u_6v6i6Qv80.

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Suspension Lamps but are now lost. Furthermore, the lamp depiction and the wood carving depict the same ritual procession, which might even be the Padmanabhaswamy temple Paingul festival, to the ocean for ritual bathing of the god. I have proposed an identification of the lamp as the work of a temple-associated metalwork shop in Thrissur district and Thripunitura now kept by the Thrissur State Museum. The Kochi royal family lived in Thripunithura in the Hill Palace but only after 1755. Part of that palace is now a museum. Within the royal compound there was a private, royal temple. Shri Poornathrayesa temple. The temple is considered among the greatest temples in Kerala and was first among eight royal temples of former Kochi kingdom. The deity, Vishnu as Lord Poornathrayesa, is considered the tutelary deity of the kingdom and guardian of Thripunithura. This god is known as a lover of elephants. Hence more than 40 elephants participate in his great December-January festival as an expression of their devotion. Shri Poornathrayesa is a form of Vishnu not known elsewhere. His image could Figure 41. Procession scene carved on wood temple be confused with that of a nagaraja, part, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai a serpent king, because he sits in the posture of royal ease on a throne of snake coils with a canopy of snake heads over his. He is four-armed holding Vishnu’s implements: discus, conch and lotus with the lower left hand on his knee (Figure 42). This image is carved in relief on the stone base of the temple which seems original. In Badami Cave III, created during the Early Western Chalukya dynasty at the capital and dated by inscription to 578 CE, is carved a large image of Vishnu seated on serpent coils with exactly the same iconography, there identified as Vishnu Adisesha. Before the sanctum of the Poonathrayesa temple is a famous huge oil lamp, Valia Vilakku. Although it is about four feet tall, it is not visible because it is always covered with flowers. Arjuna is said to have lit this lamp with mustard seed oil grown in the fields around the temple. Its soot is considered to have healing power. The temple itself is a fertility temple, helping barren couples. A great vilakkumaram, pillar with lights, stands in front of the temple. The royal family gave many lamps to the temple, then in 1960 the devaswom board of the temple and the Paliath Achan (Prime Minister) gave a large number of these temple oil lamps, 53

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Figure 42. Shri Poornathrayesa, temple base stone relief figure of Shri Poornathrayesa

perhaps a group of 80, to the Thrissur State Museum. There must have been a metal workshop in Thripunithura to create the ritual objects donated to the temple. The gifted group of bronzes can serve as an example of a regional style of bronze casting of temple oil lamps. In fact, a few dispersed examples of the same style and workshop production can be added to the group. In addition to the metal lamps, images of larger deities and guardians, wood carvings and large mural paintings were probably made for the Shri Poonathrayesa temple in the same style. I propose that these lamps are from one shop or even one lamp maker given the privilege of creating lamps for the temple by the priests: Thrissur State Museum temple-shaped lamps (10/1, 10/2) and elephant-shaped lamps (10/3, 4) mentioned by Gangoly as being from Thripunithura (Figures 14, 15, 20, 21). Specifically, he mentions that the 10/1 vimana lamp came from the house of the Paliath Achan, the chief feudatory of the Cochin State.27 The affairs of the kingdom were administered by the Paliath Achan, a wealthy land owner and permanent hereditary Commander in Chief and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Kochi. 27

Gangoly, Votive Lamps from Cochin, p. 122.

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Figure 43. Padmanabhaswamy, suspension oil lamp, British Museum 1880.1610 (reverse of Figure 45), Photo courtesy of British Museum

Figure 45. Rama suspension oil lamp, British Museum 1880.1610 (reverse of Figure 43), Photo courtesy British Museum

Other suspension lamps (10/3, 10/4, 19/2, 10/35) (Figures 14, 15, 35) can be added to the Thripunithura group by evidence of distinct style elements. These include: Thrissur State Museum 10/36, Gaja Lakshmi and Krishna in a palanquin plate (Figure 29, 30), Honolulu Padmanabha with Rama on the reverse (Figure 38, 39), British Museum 1880.4063 Gaja Lakshmi and Krishna (Figures 27, 28), and 1880.1610 Padmanabha and reverse with Rama and Lakshmana (British Museum, Figures 43, 45). This group includes 15 relief scenes since most of the lamps are double-sided. There remains today in Thrissur district, according to A. Achari, a hereditary metal shop and community called Vishwakarma that is over 200 years old. I have described all these double-sided examples except two suspension lamps in the British Museum which clearly belong to the same group judging by style elements. These two suspension lamps have been in the British Museum collection since 1880 (Figures 27, 28, 43, 45) when they were given by a trustee, Richard Payne Knight (February 11, 1751 – April 23, 1824) of Downton Castle in Herefordshire, and of 5 Soho Square, London, England. He was a classics scholar, connoisseur, art collector, archaeologist and numismatist best known for his theories of picturesque beauty and for his interest in ancient phallic imagery. Apparently, he did not travel to India but probably acquired them in Britain from art sales. He may have had the 55

Light of Devotion two lamps long before 1800 when he gave them to the museum. This at least tells us that they are not new; they are more than 220 years old. In fact, they have all the features of the earliest lamps and may date to c. 1100.

Figure 44. Bhudevi, c. 14th century, height 10 5/8 inches, Bhansali collection, New Orleans

If we compare the relief figure of Gaja Lakshmi on the reverse of the British Museum suspension lamp, (BM1880.4063) (Figure 28) to a bronze goddess in the Bhansali collection in New Orleans (Figure 44) we find virtual twins.28 If Gaja Lakshmi stood up she would look just like this charming three dimensional, 11-inchtall goddess. Significantly, neither voluptuous figure is confined by the kuchabandha (breast band) the absence of which is an early detail. Later images of Gaja Lakshmi wear the protobra, but earlier female images do not. All details of the crowns, necklaces, body jewelry around the abdomen, are the same. In all the art of India, where large breasts like mangoes are standard, the breasts of the Kerala goddesses are among the largest. On the British Museum lamp listening to Krishna play flute, several gopis, cow herdesses, repeat the female figure type in miniature. The BM Krishna lamp belongs to a group of masterworks originating from the (hypothetical) Thripunithura temple-related workshop of the Kochi Chera kingdom possibly dating to the 12th century, or earlier.

The British Museum Krishna lamp (Figure 27) is addorsed with Gaja Lakshmi (Figure 28) so that the area around both figures is pierced through. It is a short step to recognize that Thrissur State Museum lamp 10/36 bearing Gaja Lakshmi (Figure 25) is the work of the same moosari (metal craftsman). This lamp addorses Shiva and Parvati seated on one side with Gaja Lakshmi on the back. The figure of Gaja Lakshmi is virtually identical to that on the BM 1880.4063 Gaja Lakshmi figure. Furthermore, if we notice the similarly designed multiple bands of the lamps’ arching prabhas, we see that the outer weaker bands of flames of both have broken in the same way. Other shared features include the footless oil plate with a figure lost from its center, the rearing simha (lion) vyalas that join the plate to the stage or throne of the god with tails forming a circle, the arch banding, the hole at the top to receive the first chain, the pierced addorsed figures, the exposed breasts of the goddess, the elephants pouring water from tiny lota pots over Lakshmi. The chain of the British Museum lamp is lost, but that of the Thrissur lamp is intact: it is an interesting design, not with simple chain links or figures, but with joined mace-like designed segments between links. 28

Pal, The Elegant Image, p. 178, Figure 98.

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Suspension Lamps I would say that the lovely goddess in the Bhansali collection with her young and innocent face, was created in the same workshop by the 12th century or earlier (Figure 44). This is of interest because it is the first time such a comparison between creation of lamp relief sculpture and fully cast image in bronze has been demonstrated. Miniature relief figures, like the work of a jeweler, were expanded into major images. The Bhansali Bhu Devi was originally flanking an image of Vishnu which is not known to exist, which would have been larger than 12 inches. She would have been matched by her mirror image of another goddess, perhaps Lakshmi, in a triad on his other side, now lost. They were joined to a base in the same way the lamp’s lost, smaller, central figure in the plate (an elephant or Ganesha?) was. The round part under her feet was joined into a socket. The figure of Krishna on the reverse is of immense charm (Figure 27). He plays his flute and seems to dance to his own music. His legs are not crossed at the ankles as they are in other Venugopala images.29 To his sides are gopis and small cows enchanted with the music. Another detail to note is his long, curly hair falling past his shoulders. Compare this detail to the Krishna Venugopala figure on the bottom of the14th century vrikshadeepa in the Natesan collection where the Krishna has the same long hairdo, but crosses the legs the other way. The depiction on the British Museum lamp is early, fresh and sweet. Stepping from the Krishna lamp to another lamp in the British Museum collection, we find an excellent a representation of Padmanabhaswamy, donated by the same trustee, Mr. Knight, in 1880 (Figure 43). Here we find all the same design elements of simple plate type, arch type and its slight breakage, rearing composite beasts, light weight metal, missing central plate deity on a suspension lamp featuring Padmanabhaswamy. He reclines on Ananta on one side with his consorts, who massage his legs and arms, while on the reverse side we see Rama, Lakshmana and Hanuman. (BM1880.1610, 13 by 9 inches, Figure 45). The iconography of the narrative scene of Vishnu reclining on the cushion-like coils of the great endless serpent, Ananta, that keeps him afloat on the ocean is simple and uncrowded. This lamp would seem to have been created in the same Thripunithura workshop because of its design similarities to the above pieces. The museum dates it to 16th -17th century, whereas I would place it earlier, perhaps 12th century. The relief depiction on the reverse of Padmanabhaswamy (BM1880.1610) is outstanding in quality. The central figure is King Rama, reputed to have settled the south. He is the hero of the Ramayana. He holds his mighty bow in his left hand and an arrow was held in his right hand. To his left is his brother Lakshmana, holding a lesser bow. To Rama’s left is the chief of his army, Hanuman, and to his side is one of his monkey soldiers raising his hands overhead in worship. Hanuman wears a crown of leaves and makes a gesture of obeisance with his hand to his mouth, as does Lakshmana.30 29

Standard iconography inside and outside Kerala is to cross the right leg right over or behind the left, see P. Pal (ed.), Dancing to the Flute, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1997, pp. 84-87. In the British Museum collar, miniature Krishna Gopala crosses his right foot over the supporting left, the same as in Krishna on the tree trunk in the M. Natesan collection. 30 Pal, The Elegant Image, pp.176-177, no. 97 is a 14th century Rama enshrined with the same iconography, but a single figure, dated 14th century. Pal thought this a portrait of the great 14th century Chera ruler Maravarman Kulashekhara who conquered much of Tamil Nadu. A third image of Rama with the same face moved from the Heeramaneck collection to the LACMA, M72.1.17, published as 15th century in P. Pal, Indian Sculpture Volume 2, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1988, p. 297, figure 162.

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Light of Devotion Another closely related suspension lamp with the depiction of Padmanabhaswamy (Figure 38) and Rama on the reverse is a stunning and almost perfectly preserved lamp in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art.31

Figure 46. Mounted horse suspension oil lamp, Padmanabhapuram Palace, Thiruvananthapuram, 18th century

So many design details are repeated from other Thripunithura pieces it is clearly another member of that group: thin cast metal, leaping vyalas to support the stagelike shrine, low, simple moldings of the oil plate, a full figure the center of the plate of seated Ganesha, four-armed with a simple prabha, the same pierced banded semicircular prabha (with the same pattern of minor breakage of the outer flames) with a hole in the top center for the unfigured chain. Only six figures accompany Vishnu by his bed making it a simple scene. Brahma sits on the lotus flower high above Vishnu’s navel (nabha) that issues the lotus stalk. Vishnu has placed his implements by his bedside: mace, conch and chakra. Hydra-like naga heads form a canopy over his head as he dreams the next creation. An added detail are two bouquets of lotus buds to either side of the bed. Why are they there? Perhaps as offerings to Vishnu.

Suspension lamps with double-sided miniature relief depictions of mythic subjects are no longer made in Kerala. In fact, they are found only in Thrissur State Museum and a few western museums and only from this early date, perhaps 12th-14th century. These precious survivors are surely the most remarkable lamps to represent Kerala’s great devotional art history and heritage.32 Non-mythic suspension lamps Leaving the topic of the Thripunithura/Thrissur group of suspension lamps with mythic subjects, three outstanding suspension lamps deserve special notice though they seem to not be temple lamps, but made for secular use. The first is a well-known example from the 31

10773.1, gift of the Christensen Fund in 2001; 15.25 inches in height by 12 inches in width. Gangoly, South Indian Lamps, Figure 27, is another very similar and stunning, perfectly preserved (at that time) suspension lamp featuring all of the details of the Honolulu lamp but more. Of interest is its oil plate, the bottom of which is designed with a pierced foliate pattern quite like that of the Thrissur State Museum vimana lamp, (Figure 20, 10/2, and Figure 21, 10/1). Gangoly identified this lamp as belonging to a Vishnu temple in Travancore. That could be the collection now kept in the temple vaults beneath the Padmanabhaswamy temple. I have not seen this lamp except in his small illustration. 32

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Figure 47. Horse head suspension oil lamp, 19th century, Dakshina Chitra, Chennai

Figure 48. Kuthu on staff in procession, Photo courtesy of Pepita Seth

Padmanabhapuram Palace in Thiruvananthapuram, created with royal patronage. It balances a mounted rearing horse on the edge of an oil plate. The body of the horse is the oil reservoir and the plate fills via the channel within the stallion’s penis (Figure 46).33 A device in the chain allows the lamp to swivel in any direction. It is a simple, elegant, unique lamp, much copied today. There is a short inscription on the outside of the plate under the horse. Possession of an Arabian horse imported to Kerala would be a royal status sign. An abbreviated version of this horse lamp is a horse head with a long neck joined to a plate suspended and in balance (Figures 47, 48). Actually, this horse or bird-headed type may be suspended from a chain, or may alternately serve as a torch (kuthu) carried in temple processions on a long-handled staff with a swivel device to keep the burning oil plate upright. This design is not usually a suspension lamp but is carried on a long metal staff by devotees of hereditary status, 12 at a time, in daily puja processions within the temple and also during annual festival processions sometimes at night. The plate is loaded with long wicks soaked in oil to burn for a long time. Others of this design are found in the New Delhi Crafts Museum and 33

Cousins, The Craft of the Metal-worker, p. 122, Figure lii, where he dates it to the 18th century.

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Figure 49. Female acrobat suspension oil lamp, 11 inches, 18th century, Karnataka, Kelkar Museum, Pune

Figure 50. Mythical parrot suspension oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum 10/16, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

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Figure 51. Lotus suspension oil lamp, height 12.5 inches, Thrissur State Museum 10/11, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 52. (Detail of Figure 51), Thrissur State Museum 10/11 with inscription, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

the Mattancherry Palace. The same feat of balance of other plate designs replaces a bird head for the horse head in an example from Sri Lanka.34 The rearing horse with rider lamp reminds us of another lamp with a unique subject in the collection of Raja Kelkar, an acrobat suspension lamp (Figure 49). The female acrobat balances on her hands with her feet and legs elevated over her head. The chain is attached to the girl’s back and below her is a typical loti form oil plate, common to Kerala designs.35 This unusual, secular subject suggests that it was made for use in a palace rather than a temple. A third great lamp in the Thrissur collection (10/16) is identified as a Garuda lamp though the bird is not like other representations of Vishnu’s mount (Figure 50). His beak is curved like a bird of prey and his wings are stretched out sideward while he stands with his talons on a round basket-like part in the center of the oil plate. The oil reservoir is within that part. Four bare-chested men of various ages and paunch, holding weapons stand around the reservoir. Dane reported that the oil is fed into the plate via the cups each man holds in the right hand, each of which has a channel. The figures and the bird are highly animated. An eye for a chain link is attached to the bird’s back, but the chain is gone. The bird is not a hamsa, nor a peacock 34 35

Van Lohuizen de Leeuw, Sri Lanka: Ancient Arts, p. 78, 12th century, 6.5in Kelkar, Lamps of India, pp. 8, 13, 18th century, South India, 11 inches.

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Figure 53. Ladies procession with suspension oil lamps, Photo courtesy Pepita Seth

as commonly identified on other lamps but it has a fanciful form with floral parts especially the tail. Lance Dane called it a mile (peacock in Malayalam and Tamil) vilakku. In this particular form this creature is not a standard part of Hindu imagery.36 Oil lamps include many birds, some realistic cocks, pigeons, doves; others called peacocks that do not look like peacocks but more fanciful, composite types invented by the artist, and others called hamsa that can vary in design. Figures of Garuda always follow his iconography and this does not, so there may be another identity. The piece bears an inscription: Koikkal Mukkal Vattathe which may refer to the 16th century Koikkal Palace near at Nedumangad, and a temple known as Mukkal Vattom 3 km. from the Achankovil river in the region of Chenganur. It was the gift of H. H. Maharaja of Cochin and measures 16 by 13.25 inches. Other suspension lamps are not representations of animals, temples or divine myths. Many are floral in theme, the lotus in particular. For example, in Thrissur State Museum (10/11; height 12.5 by diameter 8 inches) a handsome lotus suspension lamp creatively combines the nila vilakku type lotus stalk and bud into a hanging lamp with a great chain (Figures 51-52). Above an oil plate that could be rested on its base, a half-open lotus emits a tower rising to the smaller lotus at the apex. The proportions are pleasing. An unread inscription is on the neck of the stalk. Variants of this lotus design as a suspension lamp are found in the Government Museum, Chennai, and in the Vijayaraghavan collection as well.37 The simple nila vilakku which is usually 36 37

Dane, The Metal Art of the Cheras, p. 126. Thurston et al., Illustrations of Metalwork, Figure 142.

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Suspension Lamps stationary, can be carried in processions on certain occasions suspended from a chain. (Figure 53). In later and northern oil lamps the plate and wicks method of bearing oil hydrostatically balanced from the reservoir into the plate as in examples discussed is replaced with a siphon device which releases oil into a projecting narrow trough or projecting part as seen in a suspension lamp in the Kelkar collection.38 This device is found in late examples in Kerala. The idea for this technology may have entered India from Syria. Kerala was the home of a population of Syrian Christians.

38

Kelkar, Lamps of India, p. 54, figures 93-94

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Stationary Lamps Mada vilakku/wall niche lamps Major forms of stationary lamps include designs of niche, tree, branching, pillar, lady and water pot lamps. They are not hung nor are they carried. First is a simple lamp called a mada or wall niche lamp used predominantly in-home worship, in domestic shrines (Figures 54-60). At home or in temples this small lamp sits in a wall niche. Alternately, but not often, this type sits on a specially devised wooden pillar-like lamp stand (sthampan) (Figures 61,62). The vertical back part of a mada lamp often depicts Gaja Lakshmi in relief, but other figures and designs are seen especially in earlier examples. This lamp is lit at sunrise and sunset to invoke the deity.1 In 1913 the Government Museum Madras (now Government Museum Chennai) published ten examples.2 Some are a single level in height, others are taller with two levels. In the Vijayaraghavan collection in Chennai dozens of examples of diverse types all consist of the designed back vertical plate with a leaf-shaped oil cup in the horizontal forefront. Later examples become standardized to what they are today in mass production: two levels with Gaja Lakshmi on the back plate. Earlier examples are single level with diverse representations on the back plate including a chakra of Vishnu (a mada of Vishnu is called kai), a nagaraja, swans flanking a vessel from which they drink, and Narasimha. Also, earlier examples were made in detachable parts whereas later they are cast as one piece. The Napier Museum displays wall niche lamps with Gaja Lakshmi. The mada lamp is also called archana deepa. Its shape is called aal deepa, the heart-shaped peepal leaf, designed to protect the flame from the breeze.3 In his play written in 1988, based on folk stories from Karnataka, Naga-Mandala, by Girish Karnad, the domestic lamp flames gather at the local temple at night after they are put out. There they share the day’s gossip, and thereby much mischief ensues. Vriksha vilakku or Tree-shaped lamps Tree-shaped temple oil lamps called vrikshadeepa (Sanskrit) or aluvilakku (Malayalam) are a standard type of ritual oil lamp still in use in Kerala temples or homes, or today also in lobbies of hotels and restaurants (Figure 63). Often extraordinary, some are six feet tall, others are shorter, each of hundreds of leaves (or often 108, a sacred number) serving as an oil cup. This makes a delightful sight (like a Christmas tree) when lit, as they are in daily worship. Certain oil lamps are called undying, that is eternal or perpetual, because they are burning, day and night. The tree represented is a banyan, sacred in Hinduism. Banyans are considered manyfooted because of their aerial roots, and undying because they regenerate themselves by re1

V. Ramanathan, The Tamil Landscape, Culture and Traditions. Chennai, Madras Craft Foundation, 2018, pp. 50-52. Thurston et al., Illustrations of Metalwork, Figures 114-124. 3 Dane, The Metal Art of the Cheras, p. 126. 2

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Figures 54-57. Wall niche lamps, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai

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Figures 58-59. Wall niche lamps, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai

Figure 60. Wall niche lamp, Dakshina Chitra, Chennai

Figures 61. Wooden lamp stands for mada, Dakshina Chitra and Vijayaraghavan collections, Chennai

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Figures 62. Wooden lamp stands for mada, Dakshina Chitra and Vijayaraghavan collections, Chennai

Figure 63. Tree-shaped oil lamp, Shiva temple, Ernaculum, Photo courtesy Srikumar M. Menon

rooting and spreading. To have a perpetually burning lamp, an undying tree, is essential so that prayers are eternally offered with the flame. The tree has a ridged trunk and heart-shaped leaves. Another, more common type of tree lamp is the peacock tree lamp, mayil vilakku, with a single large peacock at the apex. Hinduism represents trees as an axis mundi linking the human and divine realms. Offerings to the gods, therefore, are left on an altar beneath a tree or a dharmavijayastambha in Kerala temple compounds near the entrance to serve the same function (Figures 64, 65). These teak flagstaffs can be sixty feet tall and sheathed in brass. Around the base may be a set of small images of deities cast in brass or bronze. A wonderful Kerala cast bronze flagstaff collar from the base of such a pillar in the British Museum collection bears miniature relief representations of 22 gods including a charming Krishna (Figure 66).4 A larger, but not very large, Garuda bird or Nandi bull often crowns the pole, depending on whether the temple is dedicated to Vishnu or Shiva. A tortoise bears the whole staff on its back. In fact, before building the temple when the ground is consecrated a metal pot and a tortoise are buried at the bottom of the hole dug for the flagstaff. The flagstaff is a tree trunk stripped of its branches. Festivals are announced by hoisting a flag. Symbolically though, the staff is also a dharmastambha, a means of communication between man and god, human and the divine. The light gains the attention of god to hear the prayers offered. Looking at some examples, we will begin to appreciate why tree lamps were and still are a special type of oil lamp in Hindu Kerala. 4

British Museum, museum no. 1880.1609, 15th-16th century.

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Figure 64. Deepastambha, 16th century, Mahadeva temple, Ettumanar

Figure 65. Dharmavijayastambha, Mangalore, Karnataka

Figure 66. Flagstaff collar detail including Krishna Venugopala and 21 other gods in relief, 15th century, height 5 inches, diameter 13.75 inches, British Museum 1880.1609 Payne Knight Collection, Photo courtesy British Museum

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Figure 67. Deepastambha, Thrissur State Museum, acc. no. 10/33, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 68. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp, Sri Mahadeva temple, Sreekovil, Vaikom, Kerala, height 5-6 feet, now retired.

The State Museum in Thrissur exhibits a lamp with a central staff which is not a tree, but a deepastambha (pillar lamp) 10/33 (Figure 67), the shaft of which stands on a tortoise’s back, where there is an inscription. This deepastambha lamp is like a small version of a temple dharmarajastambha. Snakes raise their heads at the bottom of the shaft, above which are five ascending tiers of oil plates with wick spouts. Such lamps, still in use in exactly this form in temples, are cast in parts to be stacked up around a central metal shaft. They are taken apart for cleaning (Figure 6). In India two types of banyan trees, the asvatha (Ficus religiosa) and the nyagrodha (Ficus indicus) are considered undying or immortal. The branches of the banyan send adventitious roots to the earth. The tree spreads and thereby regenerates itself and seems undying in the same way a lotus endlessly regenerates by sending out rhizomes through water to root in the mud. Both are sacred Hindu symbols of an unbroken chain of existence.5 Trees have a very long history of religious association and symbolism in India. In Kerala, more than in other parts of India, trees appear in sacred images of the gods as a frequent feature 5

Any association of the tree as axis mundi in temple use, with the idea of a tree of life and knowledge, which seems to be a distinct western idea, is not relevant here. The ancient Indian idea of a wish-granting tree, kalpavriksha, producing food, babies, jewelry, etc. may be more related, but only in a vague way. The tree-shaped oil lamp carries prayers in its flames to be heard by the deity invoked.

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Light of Devotion which reflects not only a Dravidian heritage of tree worship, but the simple fact that the environment of Kerala was and still is a heavily forested region of India. Included behind large or small images of deities made in Kerala instead of the arched prabha seen in other regional styles, is often a tree fanning its limbs behind the gods. An outstanding small bronze in the private collection of the late Dinesan Natesan of Bengaluru, represents Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman (lost), seated together under a broad, grand, rather surreal tree that acts like a canopy and unites them as a group sculpture, though small, while also suggesting their life in exile in the forest (Figure 1). This image was made for worship in a domestic shrine. A fantastic bronze tree lamp six feet tall, with 365 oil cups, heart-shaped like leaves, was planted until recently in the compound behind the round sanctum of the Sri Mahadeva temple at Vaikom, Kerala (Figure 68). It is a nila vilakku, or ground lamp. Its trunk is naturalistically vertically furrowed and twisted. Seven circular rings of branches encircle the trunk with leaflike cups at the outer tips in ascending tiers of diminishing diameters. It is crowned with a bud-shaped finial. Structurally unique, it is also ingenious because oil poured into the topmost inlet flows through concealed tubes to fill all the oil cups. Such engineering ingenuity is a frequent and very delightful feature of Kerala oil lamps. We find the same cleverness in the elephant shaped lamps that refill from the body oil reservoir into the plate via the penis. The lamp stood for more than fifty years close to the wall niche of Parvati on the exterior back side of the temple sanctum within the temple compound. It has now been replaced due to some wearing and damage, by a similar, but less majestic, tree-lamp made by the P.R.M. Lakshmana Iyer metal shop in Mannar. This asvattha tree or banyan, is sacred to the Hindu gods, Shiva as well as Vishnu. This perpetual lamp is always lit and is booked for years ahead by devotees who wish to donate oil, usually vegetable oil, or money for its eternal oil supply to thereby gain merit. The Vaikom temple was rebuilt after a fire in 1325. An earlier version of this lamp was believed to protect the rulers from enemies and from the machinations of the Ooranma Namboodrie priests of this temple.6 This tree lamp is arranged in basically the same way as many tree lamps with tiers of circular branches bearing leaf-shaped oil cups around the trunk. It is important to note that variety and inventive free mixing of standard and nonstandard design elements are a constant feature of tree and other varieties of oil lamps. Similar to the Vaikom temple lamp, but an even more spectacular example of an aluvilakku, though out of its original temple context, is in the Honolulu Museum of Art in Hawaii (Figures 69, 70). This massive lamp (53 by 31 inches) has small figures on its trunk. Five levels of leafshaped cups, like the Vaikom lamp with branching tiers, encircle the trunk, and then a crowning sixth tier that is a vertical circle makes a pierced design of leaves in profile. Here, Krishna sits in the crowning branches playing his flute addorsed to Garuda on the opposite side. Lots of bronze birds and monkeys (each different) play in this tree, expressive of the irrepressible life force. Around the trunk on the lower two levels are four figures; three are forms of Krishna standing, the fourth figure is Garuda. Between the third and fourth horizontal levels of leaf oil cups remain either vines or bending branches ending originally in a flower bud. The trunk itself is formal in design, not natural like some other examples described.

6

Bayi, Thulasi Garland, p. 367.

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Figure 69. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp, 13th century, Kerala, height 53 inches width 31 inches Honolulu Museum of Art, HI, Gift of Christensen Fund 2001, acc no. 106.46.1, Photo Shuzo Uemoto

Figure 70. Krishna fluting, (detail of top portion of Figure 69)

Originally probably quite similar to the Hawaii lamp is an example of highest quality in a private collection in Bengaluru (Figure 71). At the apex sits Krishna fluting with portions of shapes remaining around him that must have been like the circle of leaves in the Honolulu example. At the lower level around the trunk are nude female figures, the gopis, who have lost their clothes to Krishna, who stole them. They have been seduced by Krishna’s music and are passionate about their Lord (Figure 72). Each female is an individual figure sculpture of excellent modelling in a unique pose and even of different ages from one another. It is interesting that very similar figures are found in the analogous location at the base of the Honolulu tree-shaped lamp. Three fine lamps I have rediscovered have such figures on the base of the shaft. Included are Honolulu, M. Natesan of Bengaluru and a branching lamp, kavara, now in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to be discussed later (Figure 78-79). I can only speculate that this feature of figures on the shaft is shared because of their production at the same workshop. The third lamp, now in Virginia, is known to have come from the Kumaranallor Devi temple in Kottayam, Kerala. This important goddess temple was originally royal, then privately owned until 2010, and is now government owned. All three examples may date to the 14th century.

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Figure 71. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp, 14th century, Kerala, height 45.5 in, width 31 inches, Collection of the late Mahadevan Natesan, Bengaluru.

Figure 72. Gopis at base, (detail of Figure 71)

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Stationary Lamps Returning to the Natesan lamp, the tree teams with life. Many monkeys carouse, each in an individual pose. There are musicians and dancers and other deities. There was once a figure addorsed to Krishna at the top, but it is too damaged to identify. In the Honolulu lamp we see Garuda addorsed to Krishna at the apex. The shingle or bark-like treatment of the trunk is also similar to that on the Honolulu piece. Both Hawaii and Bengaluru examples have animated figures on the base of the tree trunk. There are three tiers of branches, 73 oil cups on the lamp which is now 45.5 inches tall. Originally there may have been another tier of branches and 35 more cups on it totaling the sacred number 108. The tiers are separately cast and joined by tenons. This and the Honolulu example are of such fine quality it is easy to speculate that each had a royal patron in the fourteenth century and may have been made by the same artist/ craftsman. A fragment in the Staatlichen Museum fur Volkerkunde, Munich, is clearly from the same workshop and was part of the lower area of a tree trunk of a tree-lamp.7 It includes four Vaishnava figures: Krishna fluting, Lakshmi and two other two-armed female figures, perhaps gopis. The iconography of Krishna fluting is quite like other Kerala representations with a certain hairdo and an odd crossed leg pose with the right over left. Another tree lamp reported long ago to be in the Shiva temple at Valaippalli, Thiruvananthapuram, was a 4.5-foot-tall vrikshadeepa with 108 leaf-like oil cups arranged in seven tiers of the branches. The distinctive shape of the pointed leaf cup in all these lamps is so similar to the shape of hands in anjalimudra, making an offering of prayer, that one wonders if the association is an intentional part of the symbolism. This lamp may no longer exist.8 A smaller example of a tree lamp in the collection of the Denver Art Museum (25 by 15.5 inches) is important because it is dated 1555 in an inscription in on the base (Figure 5). The cast portion gives the name Kodena, the donor, perhaps a king. The cast relief writing contains the word kotujuram which might mean high fever.9 Extrapolating from this, the lamp may have been donated with a prayer for the cure of a loved one from high fever. Since the date portion of the inscription is incised and not cast in the metal it might not be original, but it may be true. The tree has three tiers or levels of branches encircling the trunk. The trunk is not very naturalistic and the branches leading to the cups are formulaic in design and form a netlike pattern. This example is not especially impressive, rather it is a standard and abundant type still made today, though now made by machine. At its apex is a rather phallic looking lotus bud-shaped finial associated with Shiva, described to me by a Vaikom temple priest as the generative part. The lamp is cast in three sections. Its metal content is heavy with thick casting. This is the only clearly dated oil lamp discovered thus far. Since it is not figural it does not help with the effort to date other lamps or sculptures by association of style. It does show the degree of formulaic standardization of such lamps by 1555. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastusangrahalya in Mumbai has two excellent six-foot-tall tree lamps which were published in 1977.10 In each with branches full of birds, the trunk is a pillar that rests on the back of an elephant. The museum dates the two South Indian lamps to 7

Mallebrein, Skulpturen aus Indien, Bedeutung und Form, Munchen. Staatlichen Museums fur Volkerkunde, Munchen, 1984, pp. 146-147. 8 Gangoly, Southern Indian Lamps, Figure E; and also published later in 1916, Gangoly, South Indian Lamps, Figure 24. If a lamp is old, damaged or too dirty, its valuable metal may be recycled into a new lamp or object. 9 Nagar, Dipa Lakshmis, p. 142. 10 S. Gorakshkar, Animal in Indian Art. Bombay. Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, 1979, Figures 193, 200.

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Figure 73. Peacock tree-shaped ground oil lamp, height 37.4 inches, Thrissur State Museum, 10/18, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 74. Peacock tree-shaped oil lamp, height 48 inches, c. 17-18th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/17, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They are much more busy or complicated than earlier and even traditional modern Kerala tree lamps. The tradition continues. Today in the center of Thrissur across from the famous Vadakunatha Shiva temple, the Krishna Metal Shop sells a new brass triple-tiered tree lamp with leaf -like cups all around and a peacock at the top. Shops in Kochi in Jew Town sell excellent old and new tree lamps. Some of the finest of old Kerala oil lamps are protected nearby that temple and shop in Thrissur State Museum. In the collection there is a tree lamp with four tiered levels of 72 oil cups in all (24, 20, 16, 12) and a huge peacock at the top, the body of which is an oil reservoir (Figure 73). An elaborate, lacelike web of branches contacts each cup as an ingenious means of filling all the oil cups. This bronze measures 37.4 inches height and 23 inches in width. It was cast in five segments: four for the trunk and a square base. Here too the trunk is ridged like that of a banyan. Another example of a fine tree lamp is in the same Thrissur collection (10/17) (Figure 74). Here branches extend from a central shaft or staff that is not treated like a trunk but has thirteen 74

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Figure 75. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp, height 4-5 feet, missing crowning element, Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram

Figure 76. Tree-shaped ground oil lamp in temple, Kavara vilakku.

branches on three levels (5, 4, 4), each bearing one oil cup and each oil cup with a small pot oil reservoir and each pot with a bird on it. Each bird is cast separately from the pot and can be lifted off to fill the pot with oil. Near the top there is a large foliate oil plate with seven wick spouts or channels. Standing as a finial on the top of the staff above this is a huge bird. The bird may be a hamsa or goose. Each bird in the tree carries a spray of vegetation (symbol of life) in his beak and his tail is an effusive burst of plant life also, making him a composite being merging aspects of earth, air, water, animal and vegetal life. He is a sacred bird traditionally representing ideas of the power of discrimination, perception, and auspiciousness. This large tree lamp is about 48 inches in height. The attenuated depiction of the branches and leaves in this complex example suggests a later date for this lamp, perhaps 17th century, but the thematic elements persist. This type of lamp is common and the tree and bird design is sometimes added to a smaller version as a hand-held arti or prayer lamp (Figure 107). An example of a fine tree lamp (Figure 75) is in the collection of the royal palace museum at Thiruvananthapuram next to the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, now called Puthen Maliga (Old Palace). In fact, the museum displays at least five tree-shaped oil lamps in one gallery. Like other tree lamps this one has a ridged and twisted tree trunk on a square base with moldings (Figure 76). Unlike others it bears a long inscription on its base (translation not known to me),

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Figure 77. Branching oil lamp, height 37 inches, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram 110A

Figure 78. Branching oil lamp, Kumaranallur temple, Kerala, 15th century, height 44 inches, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2005.75, Friends of Indian Art and Oak Lodge Foundation in memory of Barbara Hunt, and the Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund, Photo courtesy VMA, photo by Katherine Wetzel

and virtual foliate webbing joins five tiers of encircling branches and oil cup leaves to the trunk. Its crowning portion is missing. This  survey of tree-shaped oil lamps demonstrates how common and diverse in design the type is. A certain vocabulary of elements is shared in different combinations: the tree with heart-shaped leaves serving as oil cups, elephants, a tortoise, monkeys, cows and birds, and images of gopis and deities. In some the tree branches make a ring around the trunk in levels, while others or parts of others are vertically arranged branches. Kavara vilakku, branching lamp Kavara lamps are stationary and are a variation or elaboration on the design of the nila vilakku. Whereas that common type used at home and in temples has a stem supporting a round or floral designed plate topped with a rising lotus bud, the kavara multiples that element into lamps that can be very large and impressive. They are often seen in the temple sanctum. The 76

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Figure 79. Figures on shaft (details of Figure 78)

Figure 80. Branching oil lamp, height about 5 feet, 16th century, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai

largest of this type I have seen is modern and measures about 9 feet wide by 5 feet tall. In her volume on the Padmanabhaswamy temple, Gouri Lakshmi Bayi mentions the much-acclaimed kavara vilakku standing before the Abhisravana Mandapam, and other lamps.11 An impressive branching lamp in the Napier Museum collection (acc. no. 110A) stands apart from others by its stately strength and classic richness (Figure 77). The pedestal bears inscriptions in Tamil characters, not published. It has three similar branches with plates for oil and wicks. The kavara vilakku, or branching lamp, reminds us of a trident or candelabra, or even a menorah in shape. This large example measures 37.25 by 27.25 inches. 12 A spectacular example of the kavara type is in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, USA (Figure 78, 79). Cast in nine pieces, it is special for its size, in height 44 inches, its complexity of five branches, and the miniature carved figures of gods, dancers and animals on its lower shaft. The figures are very animated and well-cast, reminding me of the Honolulu Museum of Art’s vriksha vilakku (Figure 69) which has similar fine figures on its shaft and those on the tree lamps in a private Bengaluru collection (Figures 71,72). The bronze is inscribed on the base in Malayalam: Number one belongs to the temple of Kumaranallur, number one. This later addition refers to the Karthyayam Devi temple, a government temple that was previously private, near Alapuzza (south of Kochi) 5 kilometers from Kottayam city. 11 12

Bayi, Sree Padmanabha Temple, p. 275. https://www.napiermuseum.org/artifacts/lamps; see also the more ornate and later number 100.75.

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Figure 81. Branching oil lamp, inscribed on base, 17th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/11, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 82. Ground oil lamp, Thrissur State Museum, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

It may date to the 14th-16th century. It is cast in nine pieces. The four oil plates rise like plant parts around the central taller shaft and its partially open lotus bud. The four surrounding plates each bear a lotus bud crowning element. An even more spectacular kavara vilakku is in the collection of Lily Vijayaraghavan in Chennai (Figure 80). It is about 5 feet tall and has two levels of branches with 4 limbs each supporting an oil plate and with another suspended beneath it. The whole is then crowned by the standard generative organ a closed lotus bud, and above that a rooster, herald of the coming of dawn. Nila or Kuthu vilakku or stambha The very common variant of this kavara vilakku is not branching but a single shaft, plate and bud on a standing base called nila vilakku. These are sold everywhere, seen throughout temples, in homes, restaurants and also used to light Kathakali dance performances (Figure 82). Two pieces related to the VMFA masterpiece (Figures 78-79) are discussed here: the first is in the Thrissur collection (Figure 81). In heavy cast brass it has a central shaft, starkly designed with the lotus bud design, surrounded by four more stalk-like shafts but slightly smaller. The lotus-shaped cups of each bear a wick channel. A variant example is a single half-open, 78

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Figure 83. Ground oil lamp, 36.75 inches, Thrissur State Museum 10/24, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 84. Ground oil lamp, c. 17th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/20, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

artichoke-like lotus bud design like the VMFA kavara lamp, redesigned into a suspension lamp in the Thrissur State Museum (10/11, inscribed, height 21.5 inches) (Figures 51-52). The oil plate is simple and elegant. Its chain ends in a massive hook. The same design can be found in standing and suspension lamps. The symbolic lotus/phallic vocabulary is consistent. Elegant in design, nila vilakku are quite common, in fact they are seen everywhere but usually in a small size of about one foot or less. The examples discussed here are larger than those bought today by devotees for home use or as a gift to the temple (Figure 82). Older preserved museum examples have a simple shaft of about three feet height topped by an oil plate and often above that is a crowning element, either a bird or simply the traditional lotus bud design seen everywhere. Modern temple nila vilakku can be colossal in size, as for example at the Minakshi temple in Madurai. An example of the ubiquitous simple standing lamp with the most frequently seen finial of a lotus bud is in the Thrissur Museum collection,10/24. (Figure 83) From bottom up it has standard parts of a plate-like base, a tall shaft, an oil plate and the crowing bud projecting upwards. The line is simple and elegant, its height 36.75 inches. In the same museum is 10/20, which is the same design in general but with added details of a grooved shaft and 15 wick channels (or lights) in the oil plate (Figure 84). Flat oil plates without wick channels precede 79

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Figure 85. Ground oil lamp, height 33 inches, c. 17th- 18th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/27, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 86. Ground oil lamp with roosterlike crowing element, height 39 inches, c. 18th century, Thrissur State Museum 10/19 Department of Archaeology, Kerala.

the technical development of wick channel on plates creating a flower-like design to better hold the wicks. Another, slightly taller (33 inches) nila vilakku is Thrissur State Museum 10/27 (Figure 85). Mid shaft is a 5-spouted oil plate. Its distinctive element at the apex is a round, pierced, floral element sometimes described as a keyhole finial. These pinched wick channels date it to a later period, c. 17th century. Earlier lamps have a flat plate with loose cotton wicks absorbing oil in the plate. Many stationary lamps have some sort of bird as the crowning element, all variously designed. Thrissur 10/19 is 39 inches tall including the rooster-like top element (Figure 86). The shaft, segmented by moldings, supports a high oil plate with seven wick channels and the base is a simple plate bearing a long inscription. Also, in the Kuthira Malliga museum a more standard nila mayil vilakku has a fat peahen at the top with a spray of vegetation in its beak (Figure 87). A word should be said about the frequency of birds as a part of lamps. They are one element of the standard vocabulary of expression in Kerala oil lamps. Why are they so often depicted? What type of birds are found? 80

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Figure 87. Ground oil lamp with peahen crowning element, Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram

Figure 88. Ground oil lamp with doves crowning element, Kuthira Maliga Museum, Thiruvananthapuram

Symbolically in Indian art birds have two meanings. As denizens of the earth, water and air they represent release from earthbound nature, a messenger able to traverse the realms of earth, air and the celestial realm, a messenger to carry prayers to the other realm. Furthermore, they harken dawn in what birders call the dawn concert that is, they sing at first light. Dawn, light, dispels darkness as ignorance is illuminated by divine knowledge. Light/knowledge dispels darkness/ignorance or evil which is the underlying symbolism of using a lamp light in worship. The chaitanya or spirit of the deity is there in the flame’s light. In Sri Lanka stem/kuthu lamps often bear a rooster at the apex as a symbol of the bird that crows at dawn, when light dispels darkness and knowledge dispels ignorance. The rooster is not popular in the lamps of India, but a myriad of other birds is depicted. Some of these are identifiable as a swan, dove, peacock, parrot, but more are fantastic combinations of bird features that can be considered composite beings with the power of flight. Most of them have tails that dissolve into flora rather than feathers, making them not just composite in their avian parts, but composite of fauna and flora. They often hold a plant spray in their beak. These birds are often randomly identified as swans (annam, anapatchi), peacocks (mayura), gander (hamsa) for lack of an accurate name. A charming and surprising lamp also in the Kuthira Maliga bears a pair of doves or love birds at the crown above a single oil plate (Figure 88). Their beaks are curved, their feathers are

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Figure 89. Ground oil lamp with swan, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai

Figure 90. Female figural oil lamp, Doll, c. 17th century, height 11 inches, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, acc. no. 574, open access photo

distinct patterns. It is often difficult to identify a bird as their designs are various, fanciful, or composite. A very unusual lamp is in the Chennai collection: a swan with a long neck is perched on the rim of the oil plate (Figure 89). From stately simplicity to grandeur of line, a few elements are varied - stem shape and design details, crowning animal, height - to create individual lamps of great elegance. Lakshmi Deepa/Fortune Lamp Deepa Lakshmi (or Lakshmideepa) oil lamps in which a female figure holds a leaf-shaped oil cup in her two hands offer the delightful subject of a reverent voluptuous female figure offering a leaf-shaped oil plate to god. They are well known from other areas of India; however, they are not common in Kerala from the early period. Although lamps in the form of Lakshmi holding forth a leaf-shaped cup for oil in both hands are the most common type of oil lamps in India they were not traditionally made in Kerala, except perhaps with Tamil influence. In the Padmanabhaswamy temple entryway, every stone pillar has the figure of a Nayar caste girl bearing a lamp in the palm of her hands joined together

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Figures 91-92. Female figural oil lamp of a donor couple, 17th century Nayak period, Karnataka, height 86.4 inches, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C. S 2000.9.1, Photo courtesy Sackler Gallery, and details.

and raised above her waist.13 I would suggest that these are a later part of the temple and added under Tamil influence. Such female figures are carved in the stone of the pillars in the entrance halls of the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram. In his description of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple (entry prohibited to non-Hindus), Poduval notes that in the processional hall, which measures 450 by 25 feet, every pillar has a Lakshmi deepa carved in the stone of the pillar: a damsel bearing a lamp in the palm of her hands joined together and raised above her waist….14 The halls with these figures may have been added in about the 16th century. The discussion here of Lakshmi deepa is to note that this is not a very popular form of oil lamp in early Kerala art. In Karnataka and the Tamil area such lamps are abundant in bronze and in stone, and are sometimes almost life-size. More than life-size (7 feet tall) is the brass deepamalli/Lakshmi deepa in the Chamundesvari temple in Mysuru of Vijayanagara date (13361646), with a parrot on her left shoulder, as is standard.15 The parrot is her standard attribute and her confidant but is not associated with Lakshmi, a point I will return to.

13

K. R. Vaidyanathan Temples and Legends of Kerala. Bombay. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1988, p. 30. R.V. Poduval, Sri Padmanatha Temple at Trivandrum, in Pratibhanam; a collection of research papers presented to Dr P.K. Narayana Pillai, 1970, p. 58 15 C. Nandagopal, Temple Treasures. vol. 1, Ritual Utensils. Ch. V: Deepa - the lamp, Bangalore: Crafts Council of Karnataka, 1995, p. 129, Figures 176-177. 14

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Figure 93. Female figural oil lamp, c. 16th century, height 23.5 inches, Crafts Museum, New Delhi, 7/2134

Figure 94. Female figural oil lamp, c. 16th century, height 23.5 inches, Crafts Museum, New Delhi, 7/2134, detail of 93.

Beautiful bronze figures are found in the Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, where Bomma Vilakku (doll lamp) stands (11 inches tall) (acc. no. 574) on a lion-like animal with her ankles crossed, all supported on a lotus pedestal (Figure 90). The disproportionately large leaf-shaped tray she holds is the oil cup. This figure may be dateable to c.17th century.16 A similar figure in the Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C. is the female half of a donor couple in bronze, from 17th century Nayak Karnataka (Figures 91, 92).17 With her is her bronze male counterpart, her mustachioed husband. Both stand on their separate bases each a square topped by a round pedestal. She wears abundant jewelry and long hair in a braid down her back adorned with an exquisite braid ornament and wears only an ankle-length skirt. Her hands are outstretched holding an offering tray oil plate in the shape of a pipal leaf. The pair is large, about 34 inches tall. The lotus base is inscribed in Kannada with inventory numbers, devaswom 40 and 41. A third excellent Lakshmi deepa is in the Crafts Museum, New Delhi, (7/2134, height 23.5 inches) also from Karnataka, dated 16th century (Figures 93, 94). She is a well-studied figure of a woman with diaphanous cloth covering her upper torso and jewelry that compliments her curves. 16

https://www.napiermuseum.org/artifacts/lamps/lamps-bomma-vilakku/79. National Museum of Asian Art, https://asia.si.edu/object/S2000.9.1-2; V. Dehejia, Ritual Lamps. in The Sensuous and the Sacred. University of Washington Press, 2002, pp. 216-220, catalogue no. 57 17

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Stationary Lamps Alternate names for Lakshmideepa include Kamakshi (Kama akshi or eye of love) and Amman (mother) and Pavai (statue, beauty, lady lamp). In fact, it is a misnomer to call her Lakshmi in the sense of the goddess Lakshmi. She simply represents a female devotee or donor bearing an offering of a platter of light. In traditional poetry the heroine or beloved confides her secrets to her pet parrot, always with her on her shoulder. Any young and lovely female figure in Indian art would be considered an embodiment of fortune and fertility and a young woman would be called mother, for her potential. Lakshmi, being the goddess of shining fortune, is an easy association for a lamp, but figures called Lakshmi deepa never bear attributes of the goddess, which are primarily a lotus bud in either hand. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, luxury, beauty, fertility, success, prosperity and auspiciousness.18 The 3rd century Tamil epic, Shilapadikaram, The Ankle Bracelet, written by a Jain prince, Figure 95. Female figural oil lamp, height 11 inches, vividly describes a temple festival in part 17th century Nayak period, height 11 inches, 1, canto 5, mentioning metal lamps shaped Karnataka, Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, like girls that decorated the streets.19 MO, 35-309 There are many other mentions of statue lamps in Tamil literature. This type of lamp is probably more ancient than the 3rd century. Whereas arati lamps were personal gifts to god as a demonstration of burning devotion, the larger, static, eternal and non-portable lamps, such as tree lamps or statue lamps were votive in nature. Gangoly discusses the possibility that the inspiration for figure statue lamps may have come from foreigners (Greeks, Romans and Phoenicians), who lived and carried on trade at ports in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They brought with them their figural oil lamps. But he concludes that although these could have been a general inspiration, the Lakshmi deepa or lady lamps were distinctly Indian in form and meaning and superior in craftsmanship. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri has a small, late and fine Lakshmi deepa, also not from Kerala. (Figure 95).20 This 11-inch-tall lamp may be 17th century, Nayak period from Karnataka. She stands above a bell-shaped lotus base evolved in a later period. 18

O. C. Gangoly, South Indian Bronzes, Calcutta: Indian Society of Oriental Art, 1915, pp. 25-26 Gangoly, South Indian Lamps, p. 77. 20 The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, https://art.nelson-atkins.org/objects/10099/votive-lampbearer-deepalakshmia-lakshmilamp? #35-309. 19

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Figure 96. Female figural oil lamp, lower part, Thrissur State Museum, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 97. Female figural oil lamp, silver with partial gilding, 1850-1890, Karnataka, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, From the Collection of William K. Ehrenfeld, M.D., 2005.64.180.a-b. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Size: H. 14 1/2 in x W. 4 1/2

The figures we find in the bronzes of Kerala are predominantly miniatures: most Kerala/Chera bronzes are of intimate dimensions, between three and ten inches in height, though with notable exceptions, such as the spectacular life-size Shaiva bronze dvarapalas or guardian pair displayed in the Thrissur State Museum from the Thekkadeth temple of Shiva in Iranikulam that are distinctly Kerala style figures.21 The Iranikulam pair of guardians are masterpieces despite the loss of parts of their arms and legs (Figures 135-138). Their apotropaic function is served with eyes that bulge and fangs to threaten evil away from the temple entrance. Their bodies are encrusted with jewelry of intricate detail. One wears large earrings with elephants marching forth. The other wears large earrings with lions marching forth.22 Other examples of fierce, life-sized guardians are found in paintings and in wood sculpture in temples or out of their original context, for example a fierce guardian figure in wood carving now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.23 Similarly almost life-sized stone figures of donor couples 21

Welch, India: Art and Culture, pp. 30-31, pl. 4; Huntington, Art of Ancient India, p. 25, Fig.13. Amazingly similar to the gold earrings proposed to be from Andhra Pradesh now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, dated to c. 1st century BCE, accession no. 1981.398.3-4. 23 G. Michell (ed.), Living Wood, Sculptural Traditions of Southern India. Marg Publications. 1992, p. 174, Figure 75. 22

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Figure 98. Kindi oil lamp, Napier Museum, acc. no. 112, H. 15 ¾, W. 4 1/3 inches

Figure 99. Kindi, Radeesh Shetty collection, Bengaluru

as oil lamps flank the entrance to the halls of many Tamil, Chola or later temples. I am told that there is a pair of life-sized bronze dvarapalas inside the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvanantapuram. Thrissur State Museum offers no early or great lady lamps, but does have one partially surviving piece which is interesting for its mechanical aspect (Figure 96). Only the lower torso still stands, while the upper body, cast separately, is lost. At waist level we see an exposed chamber, apparently for oil. An intact, Lakshmi deepa also in the Thrissur State Museum is small and rough. She holds a huge offering cup and a parrot perches on her right shoulder as is typical. The piece is unremarkable and late in date. A donor couple of deepas in the collection of Kuthira Maliga in Thiruvananthapuram is of a very unusual stark style, perhaps dating to the 19th century. An elegant and clever double-sided donor couple oil lamp from Sri Lanka deserves special mention. Addorsed figures, a female and a male, hold a staff topped by an oil cup. This 13.5-

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Figure 100. Kindi, 19th century, Portuguese oil lamp, Ebay

Figure 101. Kindi, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai

inch bronze found at Veheragala is kept in the Archaeological Museum at Anuradhapura.24 A date of 10th century or earlier seems likely. A female figure in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco (2005.64.180.a-b) dating to the19th century (14.5-inch height) from Mysuru, Karnataka (Figure 97) is silver with partial gilding She holds her hands forth but bears no oil plate instead joining thumbs to forefingers in a gesture standardly used to hold a flower. Other examples of this hand gesture are known to have been fitted with prongs on a large oil plate, in leaf-like shape. This late example was probably made as a lamp, perhaps with the patronage of Maharaja Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar of Mysore (r. 1799-1868). A Kannada inscription on the base mentions Krishna. Lakshmi deepa type lamps offer the opportunity for a figural study of a voluptuous female. Much more popular in Kerala are depictions of Gaja Lakshmi, the shining goddess of fortune lustrated, or ritually bathed, by the spray of two flanking elephants, as suspension or stationary mada oil lamps. Kindi, ritual water pot lamp An example of a less common stationary oil lamp in the Napier collection is a kindi vilakku, 15 3/4 inches tall and quite delicate (Figure 98) identified as a 200-year-old example, c.1800. It is 24

Van Lohuizen de Leeuw, Sri Lanka: Ancient Arts, p. 74, Figure 73.

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Stationary Lamps known as the kindi vilakku because its oil reserve is shaped like the kindi pot, a traditional bell metal ritual water pot with one long spout but no handle. A kindi pot is traditionally used to wash hands and feet as a purification ritual before entering a sacred area, or before eating a meal. The kindi oil lamp has a similarly shaped pot but with three spouts for the wicks located high on the thin shaft. Behind the kindi there is sometimes a wind breaker or light reflector. This type of lamp is found in temples or home shrines. An eye at the top might be used to hang or carry this otherwise stationary lamp at the side of a temple shrine. A screw or key on the side of the shaft is used to adjust the height of the oil plate in some examples (Figures 99-101). These lamps are also referred to as chatelaine lamps. This word chatelaine connotes a set of chains suspended from the belt of the woman in charge of the household keys. The lamp chains hold tools to manage the flames: wick scissors, tweezers and snuffers. Some examples have chains hanging from the shaft holding these tools handy. The design is also known as a Portuguese whale oil lamp which would point to a type used on trade ships from Portugal and Italy.25 The Portuguese influence in Kerala domestic architecture and warehouses can still be found along the coast. The Portuguese presence in Kerala began around 1498. The kindi vilakku seems to be a late type of lamp, meaning 18th-19th century, assimilated from western models especially from Portugal and Italy. No doubt the similarity of the Portuguese lamp’s oil chamber was the attraction for creation of the South Indian kindi vilakku. The water spouts become wick holders. The pot is the oil reservoir. Examples that might represent lamp designs mixing elements of the western oil lamps into a new Indian design were published by Thurston in 1913: “…probably a Malabar pattern. The oil container with three tubes for wicks is very similar to the Italian lamp so frequently copied in various parts of the West Coast.”26

25

See example on YouTube, youtube.com/channel/UCC.DB26tgZjDzfN9xRnyTZQ, accessed 14.02.22, kindi vilakku with Portuguese fist, Shangar Antiques, June 28, 2020. 26 Thurston et al, 1913: figs 127, 132

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Portable Lamps Arti/prayer Arti (or arati, arathi) lamps are small, hand-held and have a base so they can be set down. They are used for prayer as they are waved in front of a deity. In the temple sanctum the priest will recite a prayer as he waves the lighted lamp toward the deity. In the Napier Museum collection is a nagathiri vilakku (#164) composed of five snake hoods (also called panchalathi) and the typical foot composed of two cymbals-like parts joined by a cord (Figure 102). It might remind older people of a telephone part with mouth and ear pieces. Five wicks would be lit in the five oil cups on the heads of the rearing hydra-like cobra. A similar five-headed arti lamp is in the Thrissur Museum (13/9) though missing one foot, and another example called an ottalathi has a single naga hood. In the Napier Museum collection (#576) is another undulating, snake-like lamp called a pidi vilakku (Figure 103).1 It is a composite serpent and female with a parrot on her right shoulder, as is standard for Lakshmi deepa. Her serpent tail serves as a handle for the lamp, while her

Figure 102. Nagathiri, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, 164 1

https://www.napiermuseum.org/artifacts/lamps/lamps-pidi-vilakku/89.

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Figure 103. Pidi, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, #576

human half holds forth the pipal leaf-shaped oil cup like an arghya patra, a female element suggestive of a yoni (size 14 ½ inches long by 4 inches wide). The fine piece is in the style of 18th century Karnataka. A virtual duplicate of this lamp is published in the collection of George P. Bickford.2 In another arti, owned by Natesan, the figure’s snake body changes into a full female body (Figure 104). In this 12th century Karnataka piece, she stands on the front cymbal and holds a lotus-tray of oil cups. The piece measures 4 inches tall by 5 inches long of the undulating lotus stem handle that passes between her legs. Another wonderful example in the Natesan collection is 17th century, Tamil, in which a composite lion-man (vyagrapada) holds forth a single oil cup (Figure 105). The lion’s tail swings up as a handle. This arti measures 5 7/8 height by 6 ½ inches in length. These miniature masterpieces of lively expression and imagination are from Tamil regions and Karnataka.3 Arti in the beautiful form of a lotus flower are known from Thalasseri in Kerala, Sri Lanka and Cambodia from ancient times.4 The lotus stalk forms the handle and the open flower is an oil cup. The Cambodian example adds a crowned serpent to the composition (Figure 106). A miniature tree of five tiers of oil cups (5-7-10-15-17) is an arti kept in the Thrissur State Museum (13/11) from Thripunithura crowned with the phallic-seeming lotus bud so standard 2

Czuma, Indian Art, Figure 24. O. C. Gangoly, A Brass Lamp from Conjeveram, Rupam, 4, 1920, pp. 1-3 illustrates five half-human arti lamps from the Lahore Museum, South India and Java. 4 National Museum of Cambodia, 12th century, Kerala Pazhasi Raja Museum, Archaeological Department, Colombo, no. V.06, H 5 ¾ inches; published in van Lohuizen de Leeuw, Sri Lanka: Ancient Arts, p. 72, as 8th-10th century. 3

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Figure 104. Lady, Karnataka, height 4 inches, length 14.5 inches, Shankaranand Natesan collection, Bengaluru

Figure 105. Lion/man, Shankaranand Natesan collection, Bengaluru

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Figure 106. Cambodian lotus arti

Figure 107. Tree arti, Thrissur State Museum 13/11, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

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Figure 108. Arti, drawing from Illustrations of Metal Work in Brass and Copper, Figure 144

elsewhere (Figure 107). In 1913, Thurston published an arti of the same design in the Madras Government Museum with the addition of a crowning Lakshmi deepa (Figure 108).5 The same type is seen in a photo taken in 2020, 107 years later (Figure 109). Examples from Karnataka are similar to the Kerala examples with an s-curved handle and a stack of oil cups. These are called ratharati, a type of arti. Large silver lamps of this type are published by Nandagopal.6 In the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Pune, is a wonderfully playful zoomorphic arti lamp in the form of a mouse proffering more than a dozen lights. His tail serves as the handle. He is from 19th century Maharashtra.7 A dhuparti lamp in the CSMVS museum, Mumbai, bears a small forest of oil cups in miniature and adds a serpent to the handle.8 It is a marriage of a vriksha vilakku and an arti lamp. These small, hand-held lamps employ recombinations of the design vocabulary seen in other, larger types of lamps.

5

Thurston et al., Illustrations of Metalwork, Figure 144. Nandagopal, Temple Treasures, p. 141. 7 Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Sunbeams in the Dark, Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, 1986, not numbered. 8 Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Sunbeams in the Dark 6

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Figure 109. Arti in ritual use, Meenakshi temple, Madurai

Figure 110. Changalavatta in ritual temple procession, Photo courtesy of Pepita Seth

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Light of Devotion Changalavatta Changala (or changalavattam) means chain referring to the chain attached to the spoon used to scoop oil from the recess in the body of the lamp to fill other small lamps. Vettam or vatta means lamp in Malayalam. In this type of traditional lamp from Kerala a chain is attached to the oil spoon and to the body of the oil container near the reservoir. This is not a suspension lamp, but is either set down or carried carefully. There is no lid for the oil well. Its elegant design suggests the form of a bird with soaring lines. The head portion is drawn into a flat pool for the oil and the lighted wicks. The tail fans out in the opposite direction to make a handle. The body in the center is both the base on which it rests and the oil reservoir. Cousins recorded that this type of lamp was used to light the path of the Maharaja as he walked home from his evening prayers at the temple.9 Woodcock also records that it was carried before the Maharajas of Travancore during certain religious ceremonies. Therefore, it was not a common type of lamp, but a very specialized one (Figures 110-114). Changalavatta is admired for its beauty. The soaring abstract line of the lamp above its bowl and foot is a classic shape. This lamp is often referred to as a Greek lamp. Woodcock records that this type of lamp is still called the Greek lamp in Thiruvananthapuram because it was a type of lamp designed by Alexandrian Greeks as early as the 1st century. Recalling the form of Aladdin’s magic lamp with the helpful genie, these are related to Greek and Roman lamps in shape.10 The Greeks were more than traders in Kerala from early times; they also brought their skills in construction and metal work.11 Napier Museum number 161 is an excellent example.12 Often ancient examples have lost their oil spoon. An example in the National Museum of Thailand, similar in shape, is from Alexandria. Others that are quite similar have been found in Syria. Changalavatta, also called Karpuraradha anathathattu or Kaithali in Kannada, is shoe-shaped in outline or like Aladdin’s lamp and is also used to light other lamps and in marriage ceremonies. The concept is that this is a male lamp, whereas all other lamps are female, giving and receiving the potential for light. In the Thrissur State Museum two changalavatta are displayed, one identified as being from nearby Thripunitura is small, while the other is larger. An example in the collection of the royal Mattancherry Palace, famous for its wonderful mythic and epic interior wall paintings in the distinct style of Kerala, is a stately example.13 A detail consistent to all of these is a serpent head at one long end that one imagines would facilitate carrying the vessel as a thumb rest. Nagar explains this detail as the tail of a makara in other examples. She refers to this vessel as a Jyoti deepa (light lamp) The spout end which bears a depression in a figure-eight outline is to hold oil and a wick. Narasimhan published two examples found in the Meenakshi temple, 9

Poduval recorded that this type of lamp was used to light the path of the Maharaja as he walked home from his evening prayers at the temple, see R. V. Poduval, Lamps and Jewellery of Kerala in S. Kramrisch ed., Arts and Crafts of Kerala, Paico Publishing House, Cochin, 1970, p. 128; the same point is also made by Cousins, The Craft of the Metalworker, p. 121. 10 See Anderson, Flames of Devotion, p.74 which is Roman but found in Indonesia. Aladdin’s lamp had a shape closer to a squat teapot. 11 G. Woodcock, Kerala A Portrait of the Malabar Coast, London, 1967, p. 82. 12 https://www.napiermuseum.org/artifacts/lamps. 13 See CasualWalker.com.

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Figure 111. Changalavatta, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai

Figure 112. Changalavatta, drawing from Illustrations of Metal Work in Brass and Copper Figure 125

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Figures 113-114. Changalavatta, (current location unknown)

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Figure 115. Oil pot, Thrissur State Museum 13/6, Department of Archaeology, Kerala

Figure 116. Oil lamps, Mattancherry Palace, Courtesy Mattancherry Palace Museum

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Light of Devotion Madurai, of unknown age. He states they were to be used to carry and fill the 100s of small oil cups that line the temple walls, lighting the vilakkumadham lamps fixed there.14 The Denver Art Museum has an excellent intact example which is inscribed in Malayalam with names. (Figures 113,114).15 In Karnataka the same design of lamp filler is called Kaithali.16 The changalavatta is also employed ritually to transport the chaitanya (spirit) of the deity which is always present in the lamp light, from one shrine to another. The oil and wicks from the lamp in one sanctum are transferred into an empty, clean changalavatta and is carried to the shrine of another temple where it is used to light the lamps. The ritual is performed by the temple anthithiriyan, a high caste person in charge of lighting lamps. Another device, more functional, for filling oil lamps is found in the Thrissur collection (no.13/5) (Figure 115). It is a bronze pot or bottle crowned with the familiar shape of the generative organ of standard oil lamps (nila vilakku), that is a lotus bud. This would hold a good amount of oil. The piece bears an unread inscription. The shape of the oil vessel’s finial, a lotus bud, is seen in many formats, for example on a grand kavara lamp (Figure 78), and a hanging lamp in Mattancherry Palace collection (Figure 116). Vanchi vilakku, boat-shaped processional torch Rather than an oil lamp, vanchi is a cast bronze figural oil torch carried in procession around the temple by priests on a staff and in major festivals centered on the temple’s deity (Figures 117-119). Surviving examples of this type are less common although the collection of Lily Vijayaraghavan in Chennai has at least fifteen examples, no two exactly like. The staff must have been wooden because in all examples it is gone, though sometimes given a replacement mount. The basic design is standard though details vary. The oblong boat-shaped bronze torch portion always has five oil cups to burn large wicks. Bow and stern of the boat are long and pointed like the design of a snake boat of the type still used in backwater races, propelled by up to 100 paddlers in one boat during Kerala’s Onam harvest festival in August. Musicians and deities act as supports to the boat lamp. Mounted horses on either end connect the long narrow boat to the struts below. Staff and boat are connected by an inverted flaming arch. Hamsa birds in the design of the Philadelphia Museum example, Kramrisch explains, indicate that the boat sails in the celestial realm (Figure 118).17 This excellent example is dated by Kramrisch to the 17th century. Although horses were imported or brought to India since time BCE Arab trade brought horses directly to Kerala at a much later date and they then entered the artistic vocabulary. Very similar in elements but more refined, better modelled and intact is the example in the Napier Museum, Trivandrum (Figure 119) which has a modern addition of a mount.18 Very similar to the Napier torch is another from the Gedon collection now in the Staatlichen Museum fur Volkerkunde, Munich.19 14

Seth, Heaven on Earth, pp. 80-81. Nagar, Dipa Lakshmis, p. 147, Figure 11. 16 Nandagopal, Temple Treasures, p. 145. 17 Kramrisch, Unknown India, p. 94, Figure 126, now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, accession no. 1994-148-109ab. 18 Dane, The Metal Art of the Cheras, p. 126, acc. no. 285, 15 x 13.5 inches; see also fragment in Anderson, Flames of Devotion, p. 88, now in the Fowler Museum, UCLA. It was not made to bear candles. 19 Mallbrein, Skulpturen aus Indien, pp. 114-115. 15

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Figure 117. Vanchi oil lamp, Vijayaraghavan Collection, Chennai

Figure 118. Vanchi oil lamp, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Kerala, 9 ¼ by 15 inches c. 17th century, Stella Kramrisch Collection 1994, 1994-148-109a, b, Photo courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art

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Figure 119. Vanchi oil lamp, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 15 by 13.5 inches, acc no. 285, open access

Figure 120. Kuthu, cup type torch, Koyikkal Palace Museum, Nedamangadu

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Figure 121. Kuthu, horse-headed cup type suspended on chain, Vijayaraghavan collection, Chennai

Figure 122. Ritual use of kuthu oil lamps, photo courtesy of Pepita Seth

Another example of lesser quality of casting, is in the collection of Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum in Pune identified as 18th century, South India.20 The same type of oil torch in Karnataka is called Divatiga or Dondi.21 Standard elements are the boat, worshipping figures, birds, racing horses, but there can also be other additions, including Gaja-Lakshmi. Most people call this type of torch a boat-lamp. Lance Dane identified the type as anci, which means five in Malayalam, thinking it must refer to the five oil cups and the five senses. An online video of the annual festival wherein the deity of the Padmanabhaswamy temple, Vishnu, is taken in procession for a ritual purifying bath through town to the beach into the ocean at night shows the use of the vanchi torches leading the procession.22 Elephants carry the god’s image and the Maharaja is carried in a palanquin. Another kind of processional torch is carried before the lord in processions in temples such as the great Guruvayor temple near Thrissur. It may be called a kuthu vilakku (Figures 120-122). A 20

Kelkar, Lamps of India, p. 70, Figure 117, 7 inches. Nandagopal, Temple Treasures, p. 135. 22 M7 News, Arattu, Holy Bath, at Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, 2013, You Tube video, running time 12:50, March 27, 2013. 21

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Light of Devotion flame in a large cup is carried at the end of something like a shepard’s staff by one man, though there may be as many as 12 in the same procession.23 The flat plate may be filled with a dozen long wicks soaked in oil to burn for a long time. The flame is held at the height of mid body away from the bearer, who has the hereditary family or caste privilege of carrying the torch before the elephant carrying the image of the lord, a form of Vishnu. Some of these vilakku are those with a horse or bird-headed projection from the plate edge that balances on the staff end, but we find many examples are converted into suspension lamps.

23

Seth, Heaven on Earth, pp. 37, 92, 169.

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Extra Parts Because lamps are cast in parts, portions become disassociated. Some surviving loose parts are miniature masterpieces. Some examples will illustrate how the parts originally fit into the whole. Douglas Barrett, eminent Indian art historian, gifted a bronze elephant that was part of an oil lamp once like those described earlier in this study to the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University in 2013.The beautifully cast but very simple piece is 11 inches tall (Figure 123). Only a mahout rides the elephant. The lost chain was joined to the mahout’s head in the simplest manner of all known examples of elephant-shaped lamps. The plate and chain are lost but the typical method of filling the oil plate from the elephant’s large male member may be found here.1 Of great charm is the main portion of a suspension lamp missing its plate and chain, representing the ten forms of Vishnu within the frame temple of two stories (Thrissur State Museum, 10/12, Figure 124). Vishnu is the largest figure and sits in the center of the ground floor group flanked by two females and the avatars.

Figure 123. Elephant with mahout, Kerala, Ashmolean Museum, height 11 inches, EA2013.97, Bequest of Douglas and Mary Barrett. 1

Also in the Thrissur collection are examples of suspension lamp oil plates with flaming arches and beautiful chains just missing the image of a deity which was separately cast and inserted in the center of the oil plate. Such three-dimensional figures were only two or three inches tall and have a bottom portion that is round, low and flat for insertion into a joint in the center of the plate. Often such figures were a seated Ganesha or an elephant (as in Figures 35, 38). Other times it was a standing Krishna fluting, or Vishnu with Bhu and Lakshmi (see Figure 39). When the relief depiction on the main vertical plate above this oil plate figure is double-sided, the plate figure is double-sided too with a deity on either side. If the main image is single-sided,

Ashmolean Museum, jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/object/EA2013.97; Published in A. Topsfield, Art of India and Beyond, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 2021, p. 150, Figure 62.

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Figure 124. Das Avatar suspension lamp part Thrissur State Museum, 10/12.

Figure 125. Ardhanarishvara from plate of suspension oil lamp, Kerala, c.13th century Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, height 3.5 inches, acc. no. 1987.142.348, Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Gift of Samuel Eilenberg, Photo courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Figures 126-128. Krishna/Ganesha from plate of suspension oil lamp, Shankaranand Natesan collection, Bengaluru

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Figure 129. Bala Krishna suspension oil lamp, c. 15th century, Vijayaraghavan Collection, Chennai

then the plate figure is not double-sided, but is three dimensional. Being ideal for collecting individually, these figures were removed. In the Staatliche Museum fur Volkerkunde (Munich) there are wonderful lamp parts that the German Ambassador to India, Robert Gedon, collected and gave to the museum. His collection is strong in Kerala bronzes. They are not identified as lamp parts, but they clearly are.2 For example, her figures 112A-B are the two sides of a 3-inch seated Garuda with an addorsed figure of an eight-armed seated Vishnu self-anointing. The size and the round base indicate that its original location was as the center of an oil plate. This pair of figures, 2.75 inches tall, may be dated c.12th century. Another disassociated figure from the same position in a suspension lamp oil plate of highest quality is a standing Ardhanarishvara now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the gift of Dr Samuel Eilenberg (Figure 125, acc. no.1987.142.348).3 It is a miniature masterpiece of 3.5 inches. The detailed division of the male and female halves of the body is remarkable, even the male cheek being distinguished from the female cheek. It is dateable by style to c.1200, a high point in creation of suspension oil lamps. Compare this for its quality to the British Museum Krishna suspension lamp (Figure 24) where the oil plate figure is in fact missing.

2 3

Mallbrein, Skulpturen aus Indien. Pal, Dancing to the Flute, p. 56, the size cited here is wrong.

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Figure 130. Krishna Venugopala suspension oil lamp, Vijayaraghavan Collection, Chennai

Examples of suspension oil lamps preserving a double-sided figure pair in the center of their oil plates have been previously discussed (Figures 35, 36). These seem to occur when the larger relief plate above is double-sided. An example of a disassociated double-sided pair of figures, standing Balakrishna and seated Ganesha, back-to-back, measures 3 ½ inches in height, as is the typical size for such figures in the oil plate space (Figures 126-128). The pair are ingeniously joined, back-to-back, sharing a simple prabha. Ganesha sits on the pericarp of a lotus while typically for Kerala iconography, his trunk hangs straight down over his belly and then curls left. Krishna as a chubby baby boy stands on the other side with a gridle of bells around his equally fat belly. This iconography and the popularity of baby Krishna as thief of butter are distinct features of Kerala devotion. He held a butter ball in each hand, though the right hand is lost. This piece is of outstanding quality and is known to have come from Kotakara village in Quilon district of Central Travancore. It is in the private collection of D. Natesan in Bengaluru. In Kerala Ganesha, son of Shiva, is given a Vaishnava identity and iconography in which he displays the shricakra. He is called Thumbikai alwar, trunk-god, saint and proselytizer.

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Figure 131. Krishna Venugopala suspension oil lamp part, (Gaja Lakshmi on reverse) British Museum1979.0625.1, donated by Mrs. Edith Lande, height 3.5 in, width 15.2 inches, Photo courtesy British Museum

A very similar Bala Krishna stands in the center of an oil plate of a lamp just under the arch that joins the chain above his head in the Vijayaraghavan collection. (Figure 129).4 A remarkable large bronze Bala Krishna holding two balls of butter was found in the tank of Koodamanikyam temple near Thrissur.5 In Kerala toddler Krishna’s hair is always long and curly, falling to his shoulders. (Even as a youth, Venugopala, playing the flute, has long hair in Kerala.). The earliest oil lamps include a figure in the center of the oil plate and date between the 12th and 14th centuries, probably. One theory is that the figures are placed in the center of the oil plate to help support the wick or wicks on the edge of the plate and keep it from slipping into the plate. At this time there are no wick channels or grooves which is a later solution to holding the wick. By the 17th century in Kerala some short-cuts were taken compared to the earlier multipart designs that included oil plate, plate figures, vertical relief double-sided deities inside a prabha 4

The figure seems crowded in this example by the prabha, but a later example in the Fowler Museum: Anderson, Flames of Devotion, p. 53, with a mounted elephant under what Anderson calls an arched handle shows the degeneration of the type by the 19th century. Kelkar published a Krishna toula (scales for weighing) lamp identified as Tamil, but it may be from Kerala: Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Sunbeams in the Dark. 5 Times of India.com 6/11/20.

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Figure 132. Birds from oil lamps, collection of Uma Rao, Bengaluru

Figure 133. Kartikeya riding his peacock, part of a suspension oil lamp, Kerala, c. 14th century, height 11 ¾ in width 7 ½ inches, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem MA, Gift of Marilyn Walter Grounds, 2002, acc. no. E302038

attached to a chain (Figure 130). An intact example (Figure 131) displays a base, a flat plate, a figure group of Krishna Gopala with two flanking Gopis and cows, an arch enclosing all, and a chain. The efficiency of design is in the elimination of the removeable 3-inch figures. Instead, the group stands on a platform balanced on a mini podium. That whole group, however, still got removed and collected. Examples are in Munich and London (Figure 129).6 Similarly, crowning elements of many lamps, standing or suspension, are separately cast birds of many designs. These figures can be easily detached and once detached are also collected (Figure 132). Their bases may be elaborated into a lotus pedestal, whereas the oil plate figures have a flat simple base to be joined into the plate with a metal cuff. Other detached parts besides birds include the relief cast vertical plates of otherwise lost lamps. The palanquin procession described previously (Figures 30) is such a vertical relief cast semicircular piece that survives without its suspension frame. Other Kerala figures are main figures from lamps depicted in three-dimensions on a base plate, often double-sided. In the Gedon collection published by Mallebrein, are examples of this, one being a double-sided 6

Mallebrein, Skulpturen aus Indien, p. 143 seated Krishna Gopala and Gaja Lakshmi addorsed, 2 inches tall, and the British Museum example of the same subjects addorsed, accession no. 1979.0625.1, 3.5 inches by width 15.2 inches. Besides the new technology the figure style feature that dates these to a later period is the weak mouth, more or less a slit. Their modelling in general is less refined.

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Light of Devotion Gaja Lakshmi with Krishna fluting on the reverse, and another handsome figure of Gaja Lakshmi of a more sophisticated type.7 Chains, oil plates, fully modelled oil plate deities, birds, and vertical relief plates, full figures, prabha, and even tree trunks, are all assembled from separately cast parts to form a whole lamp.8 Sometimes when such parts enter museum collections their original existence as a part of a once intact oil lamp is not recognized. A bronze Kartikeya mounted on his vehicle, a peacock is 16th century or earlier (Figure 133).9 The large bird’s body is the oil reserve which dripped hydrostatically into the plate, which is now missing, through a snake the Figure 134. Peacock suspension oil lamp (missing figure bird has caught in its beak. The small of Kartikeya?), height 13.5 inches, with chain 47 inches, four-armed deity, Kartikeya, rides on Photo courtesy Skinner, Inc. www.skinnerinc.com the back of the peacock. In 2015, an intact lamp with an almost identical bird complete with flat oil plate, chain and arch but no figure of the deity, was auctioned in Boston by Skinner (Figure 134) from the Funk collection.10 Its date is perhaps 17th century. The Skinner lamp, being more intact, gives evidence that the Peabody Essex piece is a lamp. A well-known and remarkably designed bronze “Tree of Life,” in the collection of the NelsonAtkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, has been identified as a part of an oil lamp from Kerala.11

7

Mallebrein, Skulpturen aus Indien, pp. 131, 143. They may be earlier than the date given, i.e.,17th century. See Mallbrein, Skulpturen aus Indien, pp. 146-147. This segment of a vriksha vilakku is the bottom trunk area carved with Krishna and three other deities very comparable to the Honolulu intact tree lamp and the Bengaluru examples, Figures 69, 71. 9 Given by Marilyn Walter Grounds to the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA in 2002, E302038. 10 www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2810B/lots/51, accessed 14.02.22, Ex-Funk collection, a complete lamp but there is no Kartikeya figure. 11 C. R. Bolon, The Nelson-Atkins Museum’s ‘Tree of Life’ and the Art of Kerala Oil Lamps. Artibus Asiae 81, 2021, pp. 5-24 8

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Conclusion This survey of Kerala oil lamps could be extended infinitely to consider oil lamps of other regions and forms, and my hope is that future scholars will take on this work. More wonderful lamps will be found in temple treasuries and private homes in Kerala, and eventually the inscriptions I have noted will be translated and will provide interesting evidence for their objects age and history. That in turn will help date bronze figure sculptures none of which have been found to bear an inscription. These objects are the representatives of the history of Kerala, its aesthetics and its intense devotion. It is important to appreciate and protect them for future generations. They are the pride of Kerala. Many books entitled South Indian Bronzes or something similar do not mention Kerala bronzes. Instead, they focus on Chola bronzes, which are art, it has been said, equal in stature to that of any Renaissance master. Generally, if included, Kerala figures are located at end of a book, a collection catalog or auction catalog of Indian art or South Indian art or they are not included at all. James Harle commented “No distinctive style emerged either in bronze or metalwork in general, in which the craftsmen of Kerala showed more than a modest competence.”1 No doubt his judgement was based on the very small body of objects known at that time. Western museums with major Indian collections have a couple or a few Kerala bronzes. The museum exception is the Honolulu Museum of Art which has a full range of arts of Kerala including Theyyam images and masks, wood carving, painted wood carving, lamps and figures. The Bhansali collection in New Orleans is the exception as a private collection with many Kerala pieces.2 However, Kerala bronzes are not rare, but proportional in production to the smaller region of Kerala. What is the problem? What has deterred researchers from identifying the style of classical Kerala bronzes? Kerala has created wood carvings, temples, paintings, bronzes, dance, literature, inscriptions, lamps, etc. Why are Kerala bronzes of the region’s classical period not more appreciated? Their sparse documentation does make it difficult to develop a sense of their style characteristics but with persistence a large number of bronzes can be located for study internationally in museums, auction houses, and private collections, and in Kerala in temples as well. However, in the temples, where venerable old idols and oil lamps are preserved and still in worship, they are inaccessible to all study because they are elaborately clothed and adorned with flowers. In many cases non-Hindus or foreigners are not allowed to enter temples for study or at all. When images are displayed in museums or visible in temples, there are restrictions to photographing them. As many Kerala bronzes are seen on the international art market as are accessible in Kerala museums or in temple storehouses or treasuries. At auction the prices for these miniature masterpieces run about 1000 USD an inch. The paranoia of temple authorities about exposing these valuable sacred images to the public is not entirely

1 2

Harle, The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, p. 350. Pal, The Elegant Image.

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Light of Devotion unfounded, but that comes at the loss of an appreciation of primary documents of Kerala history and aesthetics. The large number of figural oil lamps studied herein clearly share those style characteristics of sacred bimbas and broaden the surviving and documented body of early work. Close comparisons of style features have been mentioned in several examples between figures on oil lamps and three-dimensional figures in bronze. Other comparisons have been made between early figural imagery on lamps and later traditional wood carving. Characteristics Some brief remarks on distinctive characteristics of early Kerala figural sculpture, whether in relief or full dimensions, will begin with the fact that Kerala bonzes are quite small, usually 12 inches or less for sanctum images, with the exception of a few examples that are life size or larger. They are also small, about 3-4 inches, for domestic shrines or to be carried by hand around the temple in regularly scheduled ritual processions or mounted by priests on the back of an elephant for daily circumambulation of the temple or on special festival occasions to carry the deity to the ocean for bathing. We must wonder why the norm for sacred images in Kerala was so small. Is it because of their use in domestic shrines, or the intimacy in small scale for ritual processions in which the image is hand carried or carried on elephants? Or is the explanation more of a practical nature? Was there a lack of copper to cast? The large and abundant Chola bronzes owe their existence to the easy trade route to the east coast of Sri Lanka where copper was mined, without which there would have been no large bronzes.3 Copper ore from the Seruwila copper belt in northwestern Sri Lanka near Trincomalee (an easy hop from Thanjavur) was extracted on an industrial scale to use to cast the solid bronzes of Chola processional images by the 1000s. In fact, the conquest of northern Sri Lanka by the Chola King Rajaraja in the late 10th century, may have been motivated in part by the Tamil desire to have full access to the precious metal.4 Kerala had no such access to rich copper mines. There are virtually none in South India. Bronze figures require 90-95 % copper. This trade domination of the best nearby copper mine in Sri Lanka by the Cholas may be the reason Kerala created images of gods in an intimate scale and in smaller number. But not only are Kerala bronzes small, but those of other early South Indian dynasties are also small. Think of the pre-Chola Pallava bronzes, all rather small usually about nine inches and we know of no tradition of using bronzes in procession. Even the Cholas in their early years used wood carved figures in procession. The Early Chalukyas, who were also contemporary, left behind no bronzes that we know of for certain.5 The only certain metal imagery we have from the Early Chalukyas is on gold coins. Yet how they excelled in stone sculpture in relief and full round to fill their rock cut and structural temples. In fact, only the Cholas created large sets of temple processional images of major size, yet that is what we think of as typical and great 3

Dehejia, Ritual Lamps, p. 171. Pearls, which were cherished by Cholas and used to ornament temple idols, came from the gulf of Mannar at the north tip of Sri Lanka. 4 The son of King Rajaraja, Rajendra, annexed the entire island in 1017. The Cholas occupied Sri Lanka from 993-1077. Rajendra conquered the Pandyas and the Chera Permal in 1018. 5 In my opinion, the gilded bronze 15.5-inch image of Maitreya from Melaiyur the port of Kaverippatinam, Tanjavur District, could be Early Western Chalukya. It compares well to relief figures in the Badami caves and wears the same unusual necklace. Khandalawala, The Great Tradition, p. 173, Figure 40, dated to c.700. In turn that Buddhist piece is nearly identical to an image of Vishnu in the Trivandrum Museum, ibid, p. 170, figure 35.

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Conclusion South Indian bronze imagery There are abundant Chola inscriptions incised on temple walls and copper plate records. Therein are mentioned gifts of oil lamps and oil and lands or cows for financial support of eternally burning lamps in temples, but the oil lamps themselves are not found.6 Most surviving bronzes are of an intimate scale but near-life size bronzes exist such as the Thrissur State Museum dvarapala pair from the temple at Iranikulam.7 It should be noted that this famous and excellent guardian pair exists partially (Figure 135-138). It seems that portions of the arms and legs were purposely cut off (to recycle the precious metal?), but the piece was rescued and the two surviving fragments are still quite powerful. Comparable figures of the same size and type are found carved in wood in temples. The preciousness of copper to Kerala artisans may also be the reason metals were recycled besides a preference for shiny new lamps of increasing more weight. Kerala figures are hollow cast in contrast to the solid cast Chola figures. The lamps are often made of bell metal which requires less copper than bronze. Of 150 inscriptions included in his index of inscriptions in Perumals of Kerala, Narayanan includes 11 copper plate records and 139 inscribed stone slabs or blocks of stone. The lesser use of copper plates as permanent records may also be due to the unavailability of copper in the region. Kerala was in constant struggles with more powerful dynasties such as the Chalukyas, Cholas, Pandyas…, and was politically less organized into a central royal power. The trade orientation of west coast Kerala was to western Sri Lanka, Arabia, Rome, and other western ports in contrast to the east coast Tamil ports’ orientation toward Sri Lanka’s east coast, Srivijaya and on to China. There survives written evidence that Jewish traders in Aden in current Yemen to the west sent copper to Jewish traders in Mangalore on the coast of Karnataka just north of the state of Kerala today, requesting it be made into oil lamps and returned to Aden. Around 1135 Joseph Ben Abraham in Aden wrote to Abraham Ben Yiju in Mangalore where he ran a bronze factory: … I am sending 18.25 pounds of good yellow copper… Make me an attractive lamp. Its column should be octagonal and stout; its base should be in the form of a lampstand with strong feet. On its head there should be a copper lamp with two ends for two wicks, which should be set on the end of the column so that it could move up and down. All the three, the column, the stand and the lamp should be in separate parts. If they could make the feet in spirals, let it be so, for this is more beautiful…. 8 This description seems to fit Figure 98, a kindi vilakku, which can be moved up and down on a shaft with a key to tighten it into place and is known to have come into being with inspiration from the west through trade. Kerala must have traded with Yemen for copper. Portuguese whale oil lamps also fit the description and it 6

R. Nagaswamy, Nallur Bronzes, Lalit Kala, 20, 1982, pp. 9-11. The Nallur hoard of Chola bronze images illustrates several stunning images and mentions without illustration that oil lamps were also present in the find. 7 Huntington, The Art of Ancient India, p. 25, Fig. 13. 8 S.D. Goiten and M. A. Friedman, Indian Traders of the Middle Ages; Documents from the Cairo Geniza ‘India Book’, Leiden, Brill, 2011, part 2: letter III.1, pp. 554-563.

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Figures 135-138. Guardian pair, Thrissur State Museum, from Iranikulam, Kerala, bronze, less than human size.

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Figures 139-140. Ablution of Venugopala, former Lenart Collection.

is evident looking at Indian kindi oil lamps that there was assimilation from western designs. This evidence proves such lamps were made in Kerala or coastal Karnataka on order to a foreign trader. Others of the type were a mix of Indian and non-Indian designs and probably made for and used by residents of Kerala.9 The kindi, a ritual water pot used in India traditionally for hand washing before prayer, was assimilated into the design of the kindi vilakku with wicks in the spouts. But why do so many lamps survive in Kerala and not in other 12th century temple regional arts of India? Donations of lamps and oil for lamps, fields for crops to be sold to support the need (huge) for oil in temples are recorded in inscriptions on the walls of Chola and earlier temples, but I have never seen a Chola oil lamp. Production features of style Aside from their size, there are more distinctive features that define the style of Kerala figural art. A second characteristic of the Kerala figures are the production features that contribute to their style. For example, ribbons of bronze around the deity form a minimal prabha, a treatment not found elsewhere. Their simple line suggests their origin in wax modelled for lost wax casting. Frequently strands of bronze, once rolls of wax coated in clay, support the back of the figures (Figures 139-140). The support is often disguised as a tree trunk which 9

See Thurston et al., Illustrations of Metalwork, Figures 127 with spiral legs, and 132 with an adjustable shaft height. He mentions that both follow a western model although 132 has Vishnu’s emblems. In this publication dates of objects are not given.

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Figure 141. Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Irinjalikuda temple, 10th century

supports spreading branches over the god’s head. Therefore, the method of sculpting, in wax and clay, to prepare to cast the piece in metal, remains very evident. The bronze seems to be wax or clay in the craftsman’s hands, that is the creative process seems spontaneous. In early bronze figures we see a single-stranded, plain prabha, just a roll of wax covered in fine clay (then cast) runs up the back as a support. Other times it is disguised as a lotus stalk which looks like dhokra work, the wax modeling techniques of the image being evident in the metal piece, like string wax casting in the lost wax casting technique. This detail is found on the back of many lamps or three-dimensional images including Figure 1 and Figure 139. These strands of metal disguised as tree trunks or such may be part of the gating system of sprues, vents, risers and runner channels that deliver the molten metal to the mold cavities. The artists may have trained in the same workshops to carve wood, or stone, or to model in wax or clay. While there are no inscribed names of artists, we can recognize the work of members of a workshop and a foundry or at least a workshop, sometimes by small details, such as ornaments or jewelry that is the same, just as Dehejia sees the hand of the artist in the shape of a breast or the delineation of a nipple or fingernail in Chola bronzes. Another feature that stands in contrast to Chola processional images is that earlier Kerala bonzes, even those for procession, do not have lugs or holes for insertion of poles to carry or fix the bronze figure to a palanquin as Chola bronzes do, nor are they encircled by a metal prabha until a later period under derivative Nayak influence. There were no processional images in the north as there was no tradition of ritual processions, but Kerala does have ritual processions around the temple daily and outside even to the ocean on special festival 118

Conclusion occasions. Before the 7th century portable images for festival processions were made of wood in the Tamil region but thereafter in Tamil regions the gods were carried in procession by a giant wooden cart, a ratha. In Kerala elephants are a necessary vehicle for the deity and a special golden kollam frames the deity. Despite abundant political and cultural mixing with Tamils, Kerala maintained its own traditions. Influence of Tamil aesthetics on Kerala bronzes came late, post-Chola. R. Nagaswamy credits Tamil influence in Kerala art to the later period of the Nayaks. Iconography There has been almost no study of Kerala iconography. In his fairly comprehensive opus, Elements of Hindu Iconography, T.A. Gopinatha Rao included few Kerala examples. Preeta Nayak has published a few articles from her dissertation at M. S. University of Baroda as has Kumbhodaran Sreekumar at the University of Kerala. It is distinct from Hindu iconography seen in other regions’ art in deities favored and in details. We find a predominance of Vaishnava imagery including many great examples of Krishna in Bala, Gopala, Venugopala forms (Figures 27, 139). In images of Krishna playing the flute, he seems also to dance as he plays rather than simply crossing his ankles. Baby, chubby Krishna holding a butter ball in each hand is found often (Figure 128, 129). Kiratarjuniya is a favorite heroic icon and narrative representation.10 Rama alone holding his long bow, or with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman is very frequently represented (Figure 1, 141). Gaja Lakshmi is ubiquitous. The importance of the image of Vishnu Anantasyin has been discussed (Figures 35, 37). There are types of representations not known elsewhere in India, e.g., a form of Ganesha as Vaishnava bears shricakra and his trunk falls straight down and curls to the left as in Java. Nagaswamy dates one example 10th century. The God Shri Pooneshvara is special to Thripunithura and has been previously discussed (Figure 42). Just as notable as the favorites are the absent forms of deities: we see no Lakshmi deepa in early times, no Lajja Gauri and many others are absent. Shaiva images of Nataraja, Narasimha, Ardhanarishvara and Durga are preserved, but are less frequent than the Vaishnava deities (Figures 142, 143). The linga is not an early icon for the sanctum in Kerala. Concerning Nataraja Nagaswamy says the image of Shiva Nataraja was never part of the Kerala tradition in the same manner as in Tamil Nadu.11 The dance is caught in a different step in Kerala representations. The foot points but the leg is not lifted to cross the body. Dancing Shiva is not iconographically fixed or called Nataraja until 13th century, late in the Chola rule. Three general features of Kerala representation are quite endearing and consistent. First, the goddess is always very small in proportion in relation to god, and sits on his thigh or by his side like a tiny doll. For early female figures no kuchabandha or bra-like band is worn so that the breasts are shown. Although some clothing and much jewelry were part of their casting, in worship they were always fully dressed in saris, jewelry and flowers. 10 11

M.S. Nagaraja Rao, Kiratarjuniyam In Indian Art, Agam Kala Prakashan, Delhi, 1979 Nagaswamy, South Indian Bronzes, p. 174

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Figure 142. Natesa, Kalmariaditya tandava, height 8 inches, Sotheby, lot 279, 19 Sept. 2008.

Further, a distinct headdress not seen anywhere else in ancient Indian art is a tall thin pointed conical crown, a karandamakuta, with the addition to either side of a bulging or curving part. The curving part may be the visible portion of a halo behind the crown or something else. It seems to be worn by any deity. An actual crown of this type was up for auction at Sotheby’s.12 This bronze headdress is large enough for a person to wear, 34.5 inches tall. At auction it was identified as a 17th century, processional headdress from Kerala. Its origin or significance remains a mystery to be solved. Figure groups are as common as single figures, which is a shared feature with Chola bronzes. Both are found, but the difference in Kerala groups and single figures is the background of a large spreading tree to frame the group or shelter the single figure. The effect is like a natural stage setting in the woods (Figure 1). When a tree shelters the figure or figures there is no arched prabha. The prabha is introduced later.

12

Indian and Southeast Asian Art, NY Sept. 19, 1996, lot 227.

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Conclusion In distinct contrast to the super slender, lithe, sensuous bodies of Chola figures, the body type of Kerala figures is short, super animated with square faces, eyes large, sometimes bulging, outlined and wide open, sometimes like racoon eyes, full cheeks, plump bodies, and often smiling.13 The influence of Hoyshala decoration that some scholars mention is not apparent to me. Most figures are enhanced with rhythms of cloth, but not to the exuberant degree of the Hoyshala art generally speaking. 14

Figure 143. Yoga Narasimha, Kerala, height 8.5 inches, former Pan Asian collection.

In Kerala, early bronze Hindu imagery is found in other sacred parts for worship in temples besides oil lamps and single figures including relief carved rafter shoes (a sheet of metal with relief imagery wrapped around the wooden beam ends) as an architectural part, collars with relief figures around the dhavajastambha of a temple or small figures in this location (Figure 66), and large figured prabha or arches which became standard in about the 15th century. Lamps and coins were also made of gold.

Dynastic arts Paleographers reading ancient inscriptions are able to date the writing of the record when there is no date included in the text by observing small differences in the script and/or language use.15 Similarly, art historians who develop their connoisseurship of ancient sculpture by studying hundreds or thousands of images are able to date images by observing small differences in its design or presentation in absence of dates inscribed on pieces. In the same way looking at a relief figure carved on the original stone base of a Kerala temple may suggest its approximate date of creation. In arranging a chronology of the oil lamps, I have found it useful to recognize aspects of technical changes made in these lamps help us identify later lamps and thereby features of later figure sculpture, for example discussion of Figures 129-130. The art of many smaller dynasties in South India have not gained the attention they deserve while the large and wealthy dynasties have had extensive study. While some, for example the Cholas, left behind art of all forms including stone architecture, mural painting, stone and 13

Heston, Powerful Bodies. Khandalawala, 1988: 175 15 Narayanan, Perumals of Kerala, p. 380, Narayanan explains that the Vatteluttu script changed so rapidly in the 9th11th centuries that the date of an inscription on a bronze or stone can be fixed by its script. 14

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Light of Devotion bronze sculpture, caves temples, lamps and gold jewelry for idols, the Early Chalukyas created all these art forms, but left us no bronzes. Before the Cholas, the Pallavas created stone structural architecture and cave temples with sculpture and painting, stone and bronze sculpted figures in relief and three dimensions. They are known to have carved wooden processional figures though it seems none survived. The Cheras created wood architecture, wood figure carving in relief and three-dimensions, sculpture in stone and bronze, mural painting in temples and palaces, and many oil lamps. Each dynasty valued art for worship but left us unequal evidence. The Pandyas, Nayaks, Nolambas, Hoyshalas and etc. each deserve equal study. The social structure of Kerala differed from that of neighboring regions and affects the way we consider their artistic production. While the Early Chalukya dynasty of Badami had a typical patronage structure for early India, Kerala did not. In Chalukya-ruled lands temple patronage was directly royal for the majority of great temples with elaborate stone carved sculpture. The wives of the kings were great patrons of the temple arts and wealthy merchants are also recorded as temple donors. Badami was the Early Chalukya royal capital. Pattadakal was the royal coronation site. Aihole was a mercantile center. Mahakuta was a royal retreat for worship, including fertility worship and the royal burial site. The Early Chalukyas infiltrated the Chera lands by claiming ownership of them and then planting Brahmins who were given lands to settle. We know from inscriptions that throughout the 7th century the Early Chalukyas were trying to befriend or subjugate the Kerala region through occupation or warfare. The Dayyamdine copper plate grant records that the late 7th century Chalukya King Vinayaditya had subdued the Kerala kings by 692.16 The Chalukya kings usurped the lands of the Kerala region by granting it to Deccani Brahmins who established a priestly oligarchy that endured. The Chalukya reign came to an end in defeat by the invading Rashtrakutas in the mid-8th century. The Chera Perumals were powerful between 800 and 1150 CE. The Cholas had a similar political strategy: As far north as the Ganges River and as far east as Sumatra during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Chola kings may have managed their expanding kingdom through a system of incorporative kingship, in which they shared sovereignty with subregional leaders they assimilated as subordinate chieftains. In Kerala, a Brahmin oligarchy controlled patronage and may have prevented a royal style from forming as it clearly did in Chola areas. In the case of Kerala then we are seeing the Brahmin approved artisans creating imagery as temple service, for god, as an expression of devotion and a reward for their temple loyalty perhaps backed by royal donations or financing. Therefore, we cannot consider the style of art created to be a royal regional style as we can for other dynastic areas, such as the Early Chalukya domain. The temples in each Kerala village are the social, civic and religious center. Royal patronage, if there is such, is secondary and a royal dynastic style therefore did not develop. Pieces are kept in homes or temples or temple storage/treasuries. They are sacred objects and not considered art. This is a period of display of a pure and quite original style of figural art.

16

R. S. Panchmukhi, Dayamiddine Plates of Vinayaditya-Satyasraya: Saka 614, Epigraphica Indica, 22 (1933-34), Delhi, 1938, pp. 24-29.

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Conclusion The study of small objects of daily life that have survived from ancient times gives a unique flavor to our understanding of values and a visual sense of the times. Things like an earring, a pot, a toy give exciting insight into life in those times and the quality of such crafts is impressive. Beyond animating and illuminating ancient times, the study of the figural oil lamps that are mostly suspension lamps from Kerala which cluster around the 10th to the 12th centuries is important as an anchor to the history of art in Kerala in a broader sense. Close similarities of many elements found in the miniature lamp figures are virtually identical to those seen in three dimensional figures of Kerala sculpture in both bronze and wood.

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Index Ananta, endless serpent 46, 48, 51, 57 Ardhanarishvara 34, 106, 108, 119 Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 5, 83 auction houses, Skinner, Sotheby’s 120 Barrett, Douglas 105 bell metal 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 39, 89, 115 Bhansali, Siddharth K. 16 birds 6, 19, 33, 35, 52, 62, 70, 73, 76, 80, 81, 100, 103, 111, 112 British Museum 5, 9, 16, 29, 41, 42, 44, 49, 55, 56, 57, 67, 68, 108, 110, 111 Buddhist 8, 15, 16, 23, 24, 26, 27, 114 casting 1, 8, 14, 15, 18, 34, 37, 39, 45, 48, 54, 73, 103, 117, 118, 119 chain 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 37, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46, 49, 52, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 69, 79, 96, 103, 105, 110, 111, 112 Chalukya dynasty/Early Chalukyas 53, 114, 122 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastusangrahalya 73 Chola 1, 2, 10, 11, 15, 24, 33, 87, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122 copper 5, 10, 12, 14, 39, 94, 97, 114, 115, 122 copper plate grant 122 crown 2, 42, 57, 81, 120 Dane, Lance 7, 62, 103 Denver Art Museum 5, 13, 15, 73, 100 devaswom board 14, 34, 39, 47, 53 Diwali 6

Gaja Lakshmi 32, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 52, 55, 56, 64, 88, 110, 111, 112, 119 Ganesha 34, 35, 37, 42, 44, 45, 49, 57, 58, 105, 107, 109, 119 Garuda, vehicle of Vishnu 24, 45, 49, 50, 61, 62, 67, 70, 73, 108 generative organ, lotus bud design 78, 100 Hanuman 50, 57, 70, 119 Honolulu Museum of Art 5, 33, 40, 41, 49, 58, 70, 71, 77, 113 horse 5, 58, 59, 61, 103, 104 iconography 15, 47, 49, 53, 57, 62, 73, 109, 119 inscriptions 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 77, 113, 115, 117, 121, 122 Jogeshvari 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 37 Kathakali 2, 18, 21, 78 Kelkar, Raja Dinkar 5, 8, 19, 61, 94, 103, 110 Knight, Richard Payne 42 Krishna 11, 34, 41, 42, 49, 51, 52, 55, 56, 57, 67, 68, 70, 71, 73, 74, 88, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 119 kuchabandha 42, 56, 119 Kuthira Maliga 5, 32, 75, 81, 87 kuthu 20, 59, 78, 81, 102, 103 Lakshadeepam 6, 50 Lakshmi Bayi 50, 77 mada 21, 64, 66, 67, 88 Mattancherry Palace 9, 61, 96, 99, 100 Metropolitan Museum of Art 8, 86, 106, 108

elephant oil lamps 26 fortune 40, 82, 85, 88 Freer Gallery of Art 3, 4

naga, serpent, snake 46, 58, 64, 90 Nagaswamy, R. 1, 8, 16, 115, 119 Napier Museum 5, 9, 45, 64, 76, 77, 82, 84, 87, 90, 91, 96, 100, 102

Gangoly, O.C. 42

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Index Natesan, S. 3, 9, 37, 45, 46, 57, 70, 71, 72, 73, 91, 92, 107, 109 Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art 85, 112 New Delhi Crafts Museum 59 Nila 5, 18, 21, 42, 62, 70, 76, 78, 79, 80, 100 oil lamps 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 50, 52, 53, 54, 62, 63, 64, 70, 74, 75, 76, 80, 82, 85, 87, 88, 89, 99, 100, 103, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 121, 122, 123 oil plate 2, 23, 26, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40, 41, 44, 48, 49, 52, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 75, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 88, 89, 105, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112 oil reservoir 26, 30, 35, 59, 61, 70, 74, 75, 89, 96 Padmanabhaswamy 5, 6, 12, 14, 16, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 57, 58, 75, 77, 82, 83, 87, 103 Pal, Pratapaditya 16 palanquin 52, 55, 103, 111, 118 paleography 2, 9 parrot 21, 60, 81, 83, 85, 87, 90 Pooram festival 25, 30, 32 Poornathrayesa 32, 53, 54 Portuguese 27, 88, 89, 115 Rama, Sita, Lakshmana 2, 3, 6, 50, 55, 57, 58, 70, 118, 119 snake boat 19, 100 Sri Lanka 6, 8, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 61, 81, 87, 88, 91, 114, 115 Theyyam 2, 5, 113 Thidambu 31, 32 Thripunitura 29, 46, 53, 96 Thrissur State Museum 1, 5, 24, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 60, 61, 62, 69, 74, 78, 79, 80, 86, 87, 91, 93, 96, 99, 105, 106, 115, 116 Thurston, E. 5, 8, 18, 62, 64, 89, 94, 117 torana 12 129

Travancore 10, 11, 12, 51, 58, 96, 109 Vijayaraghavan, Lily 5, 51, 53, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 77, 78, 82, 88, 97, 100, 101, 103, 108, 109, 110 Vishnu 6, 16, 34, 37, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 57, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 103, 104, 105, 108, 114, 117, 119 vyalas, gajavyalas, simhavyalas 23, 35, 44, 45, 49, 56, 58 water pot, kindi, lota 13, 21, 64, 88, 89, 117 wicks 12, 17, 20, 21, 22, 35, 59, 63, 77, 80, 89, 90, 96, 100, 104, 110, 115, 117 wood carving 15, 52, 53, 86, 113, 114

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.

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.

Archaeopress Archaeology www.archaeopress.com