Metal and Stone Lamp (Conical)

Designed in 1993 for the Kanchana Lounge at Kandalama Hotel, this lamp was meant to be part of the hotel’s carefully planned scenography. At the time of its opening, however, budget constraints did not allow for many of the decorative elements Bawa had envisioned, including this lamp. These were finally added in 2005.

A prototype version of the lamp is at Bawa's Colombo residence (No. 11, 33rd Lane). This early version of the lamp was the result of a collaboration between Bawa and Dunstan, a metalworker from Beruwela. The stone base came from Bawa’s personal collection.

Like with many of Bawa's lamps, the lamp was designed to highlight an artefact placed on the stone base, rather than to just provide light. The lamp at No. 11 has a metal horse figurine placed on the stone. The figuring was a gift from a client whose house in New Delhi Bawa was designing at the time.

The Phantom Hands re-edition is based on the prototype version at No. 11. The solid stone base has been replaced with a lightweight composite stone, developed as a result of experiments with stone and concrete aggregates by the Phantom Hands R&D team. The metal components of the lamp are machined from aluminium and the lamp is available in a clear natural finish or an anodised black finish.