Makrana Marble Chhatri Pavilion Lamp, 18in

The pavilion, kept empty

The chhatri is the domed pavilion that sits on the rooflines and cenotaph grounds of Rajasthan — eight or twelve columns, a ribbed dome, a finial, and open air on every side. This 18-inch version keeps all of that and deliberately puts nothing inside it. The emptiness is the design decision: an occupied pavilion becomes a shrine, and an empty one stays architecture, which is what lets it sit in a living room rather than a prayer room.

What the light does

A concealed source under the dome washes the underside of the ribs and pushes the shadows of the eight columns outward across whatever surface it stands on. In daylight it is a white marble object; after dark it becomes a small piece of lit architecture with a shadow footprint several times its own diameter. The stone is Makrana white marble, and the dome is left thin enough at the crown that a little warmth comes through it.

Where it sits

Eighteen inches is a floor-lamp height reduced to a table object, so give it room — a hall console, a wide sideboard, or the end of a long shelf. It reads from across a room, which most decorative lighting this size does not.

Making yours

Column count, dome profile and plinth height are all open, and the piece can be built unlit as a pure object if you would rather not run a cable. It is carved for you by the master sculptors we work with in Jaipur, who turn the columns individually and fit them to the dome ring rather than carving the pavilion from one block. Allow four to eight weeks.