8.5″ Annam 5 Face Kuttuvillaku Pair | Super Fine Brass | Polished Finish

This handcrafted Annam kuttuvillaku pair, cast in super fine brass, each piece standing 8.5 inches (22 cm) tall, 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) wide, and 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) deep, and weighing approximately 920 g for the pair, takes the form of a traditional five-faced standing lamp mounted above a tiered, globe-bodied pedestal that carries continuous high-relief ornamentation across its entire surface, crowned by a fully sculpted peacock with an open, arching tail plume rendered in crisp foliate detail.

Each lamp in the pair is produced using traditional lost-wax casting, a method that allows the layered architecture of the form — a broad, shallow five-spouted lamp cup with a finely worked rim band, a fluted waist, a spherical mid-body dense with scrolling foliate and floral relief, a stepped lower foot with repeating scroll and arch motifs, and a separately resolved peacock finial — to be held in full detail at this scale. The spherical body of each lamp is the most ornamented zone: deep-channel scroll work, floral rosettes, and leaf forms wrap continuously around the globe, with the recesses between motifs visibly darkened to give the surface strong tonal contrast. The five-faced lamp cup — known as a pancha deepam in devotional practice — carries its own relief band around the outer rim, while the peacock above sits with wings slightly raised and tail feathers fanning into an elaborate scrollwork arch. Super fine brass casting preserves the sharpness of each feather tip, scroll edge, and rim bead consistently across both pieces in the pair.

The kuttuvillaku is among the most revered ritual lamps in South Indian devotional practice, used in daily puja, temple worship, and auspicious ceremonies. The pancha deepam form, with its five flames, carries symbolic reference to the five elements and is considered especially sacred. The annam — the Indian swan or goose — is an ancient symbol of discernment, grace, and the capacity to distinguish truth, making it a fitting crown for a ritual lamp of this stature.

Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, has been central to Indian devotional and decorative metalwork for centuries. It holds fine cast detail with fidelity, carries a warm tonal depth that develops with age, and is structurally durable — qualities that make it suited for both active ritual use and long-term display.

This pair carries a polished finish, visible in the bright warm gold tone across the lamp cups, peacock forms, and upper surfaces, set against deeply darkened recesses within the scroll channels, foliate relief, and arch motifs of the pedestal body that give each piece its visual depth and definition. Handcrafted pieces carry natural variation in surface texture and tone between individual sculptures.

This Annam kuttuvillaku pair is well suited for a puja room or home altar, for auspicious gifting on Diwali, weddings, and housewarmings, or as a collector's piece in classical South Indian devotional brassware.

Note: At Cosmic Studio, every sculpture is individually handcrafted, ensuring no two pieces are exactly alike. Minor variations in color, texture, and detailing are a natural result of the artisanal process and are considered marks of authenticity. These unique characteristics, along with potential differences in lighting and screen displays, may cause the product to appear slightly different from the images shown.