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A peacock-like bird is perched atop a pot that serves as the lamp's fuel reservoir. The pot opens into a small receptacle for oil or ghee (clarified butter), lit with a cotton wick. The bird, although resembling a peacock, is the annapakshi, a mystical white-colored bird that symbolizes purity and divinity. The entire surface of the bird is finely incised and chased. The ornamental chain or changala would have been used to suspend the lamp from a ceiling beam or a bracket.