KAMAKSHI" OR "LAKSHMI VILAKKU" OIL LAMP in bronze with a brown patina, decorated in slight relief on both sides with Gaja-Lakshmi surrounded by two elephants pouring water over her, topped by a "kirtimukha" mask, the vessel with a border punctuated with small figures and horsemen. South India, Tamil Nadu, 18th-19th centuries. A BRONZE "KAMAKSHI" OR "LAKSHMI VILAKKU" OIL LAMP, INDIA, TAMIL NADU, 18TH -19TH CENTURIES. HEIGHT. 18,5 CM (7 1/4 IN.) - LONG. 12 CM (4 3/4 IN.) NOTE These oil lamps are used in particular during rituals (puja) in honour of the goddess Kamakshi, one of the most important manifestations of Adi Parashakti or Mahadevi, the supreme goddess of Hinduism, of whom every female deity is a manifestation, according to Shaktism, the current view that every divine manifestation is essentially a manifestation of cosmic feminine energy. Kamakshi is revered in the Kamakshi Amman temple in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, among other places.