'Aruna' Glass Votive Set of 3 in Glass and Wood

Provenance

Three glass tealight cups set into a printed wooden tray with a gold-tone finish — from the North Indian tradition of decorated votive candleware. The Aruna set takes its name from the reddish-gold of dawn: in Sanskrit mythology, Aruna is the divine charioteer who drives the sun god Surya's chariot into the sky each morning, preceding the sun itself and painting the horizon in the specific warm light that announces sunrise without yet being it. Aruna is not the dawn but the quality of its light.

The three tealights on their gold-tone tray hold a version of that quality. The tealight's small warmth is close to the pre-dawn light — contained, specific, the quality of something beginning rather than arrived. In Hindustani classical music, the raga sung at this hour is the Bhairav or Lalit: slow, held, attending to the threshold. The Aruna votive set is designed for that register — an object that notices the quality of its own light.

Disclaimer

• Glass tealight cups are individually fitted. Minor variations in placement are expected.
• The printed wooden base may show slight colour variations — a natural feature of the handcrafted process.