Lampstand

This elaborately carved Lamp stand made of bison horn from the Ratnagiri School of Art is a combination of European form and Indian decorative embellishment like the cobra.

Horn was one of the few natural materials to be used for aesthetic as well as utility purposes in the 19th – 20th centuries. Buffalo and bison horn were primarily used in the production of decorative horn objects. The horn was shaped by moistening it with coconut oil and heating on a fire until it reached a soft wax-like state. It was then hand worked to the desired form or placed in moulds made of wood, polished and ornamented with designs. Ratnagiri and Sawantwadi in Maharashtra were important centres for the production of ornamental horn objects.