Terracotta Diya Set of 4 — Hand-Painted Clay Diyas with Floral Base Motif

These four diyas follow the classic form of the Indian clay lamp: a round, deep bowl with one edge pinched into a small lip where the cotton wick rests. A diya holds oil or ghee (clarified butter) and burns with a steady flame, and families light them in rows during Diwali, the autumn festival of lights. Two of this set are painted bright orange and two deep red.

The rim of each diya is decorated with a band of yellow and green scrollwork, and the lip is outlined in the same colours so the wick end stands out. At the base of the bowl a yellow flower with eight petals and a small gold centre is painted inside a white ring. The bowl is deep enough to hold a useful amount of oil, and the painted flower stays visible beneath it. All of the painting is done freehand, so the petals and scroll marks differ a little across the set.

Orange and red are the colours of marigold and kumkum, the red powder used for marking the forehead and for offerings, and they are the palette most often seen in festive decoration. In a rangoli, the floor pattern made from flower petals or coloured powder that is laid out at Diwali, the diyas sit well among marigold orange and rose-petal red, and the lit flames mark the corners of the design. In a square, the four sit as two matched pairs, one orange pair and one red pair.

They suit festival use and also everyday evening prayer, weddings, and housewarming gifts, and a set of four makes it easy to light a doorway or an altar in matching pairs. Use a cotton wick with oil or ghee, and set them on a flat surface that can take heat, away from fabric and paper. Because the shape is the traditional one, the set looks at home next to the brass lamps and metal plates many households already use for the festival.

The lamps come from Rajasthan artisans who make clay lamps by hand, and small differences in shape and brush work are part of that.

• Set includes — 4 hand-painted terracotta diyas — 2 in bright orange, 2 in deep red
• Material — Natural terracotta clay with hand-painted decoration
• Craft — Hand-shaped round bowl with pinched wick lip, freehand scroll rim and flower base
• Origin — Handcrafted by artisan potters in Rajasthan, India
• Best for — Diwali, daily puja, rangoli, housewarmings, gifting

Four classic terracotta diyas in orange and red, each with a flower painted by hand at the base of the bowl.