Elephant Diyas — Set of 2

Two elephants in German Silver, trunks raised, each carrying a deep chased bowl on its back. The bowls are worked all the way round with flower medallions inside a beaded rim, the bodies with caparison panels, and the ears, eyes and toenails are modelled rather than suggested.

They are lamps, not ornaments

Look into either bowl and there is a turned pin standing at the centre of the well. It holds a cotton batti upright instead of letting it slide to the rim and drown, and it will equally take a cube of camphor for aarti. The well around it is left smooth and unengraved, so oil pools cleanly and tips out without catching in the pattern.

That is what separates this from the elephant figurines it will sit next to in a search result. You can light them.

Why elephants, and why a pair

The elephant with its trunk raised is read in Indian households as a welcoming figure, which is why pairs of them end up flanking a doorway, a threshold or a pooja shelf rather than standing alone. Gajalakshmi — Lakshmi attended by elephants — is the image behind the association.

Practically, a pair gives you options a single piece does not: one either side of a door or a mandir, both on a mantel, or split across two rooms and lit together at Diwali.

Lighting them

• Til oil or ghee with a cotton batti wound onto the pin. Fill the well about two-thirds — filled to the brim, oil creeps over the edge as the metal warms.
• The metal gets hot and there is no handle anywhere on this piece. Let it cool before you move it, and lift it by the elephant's body rather than the bowl.
• Stand them on a hard, level surface, clear of cloth and curtains, and do not leave them burning unattended.

Material and care

German Silver is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc. There is no silver in it — the name describes the colour, not the content. There is no gold polish anywhere on this pair; it is the bare alloy throughout.

• Wipe the oil out the same day. Old oil goes sticky, then dark, and it is far harder to shift a week later than an hour later.
• Warm water and mild soap for the wells. A dry cotton cloth on the chased surfaces.
• No metal polish on the chasing. The flower work on the bowls and the caparison on the bodies is fine and shallow — polish flattens it, and the darkness that settles into the cuts is exactly what makes the pattern read.
• They will darken over a few months. That is tarnish, not damage — the care guide has the method.

Who they are for

This is the piece at the top of our range, and it is built as a griha pravesh gift before anything else — a pair of lamps for a threshold, given on the day the lamps are first lit. It also works for Diwali and Dhanteras, a significant wedding gift, and senior corporate gifting where one box has to carry the whole relationship.

In the box

• Two elephant diyas, German Silver
• Navy velvet gift box with a cream satin lining and a brass clasp

Oil, batti and camphor are not included. The flowers, lanterns and props in the photographs are styling.

Price includes GST. Prepaid only — we do not offer cash on delivery. Dispatched within 48 hours and shipped free anywhere in India, being above the Rs 1,999 threshold.