Himalayan Salt Candle Holder and Lamp: Warm Amber Glow of Salt Crystal

Summary: Himalayan salt, a rock salt mined in Pakistan's Khewra Salt Mine, the world's second largest salt mine, casts a warm amber glow as candle holders and lamps.

salt lamp with tea light: Neitram, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The salt marketed as Himalayan salt is a rock salt with crystals ranging in color from off-white to transparent or even pink or red, due to the presence of iron oxide. Himalayan salt is mined in Khewra Salt Mine, the world's second largest salt mine. Khewra is located in the Salt Range hill system in the Punjab Region of eastern Pakistan.

Halite, or rock salt, references the natural form of salt as a crystalline mineral with a regular three-dimensional molecular structure represented by a chemical formula, NaCl (sodium chloride). Sodium chloride, known commonly in English as salt, comprises around 98 percent of the composition of Himalayan rock salt.

The special cachet of Himalayan salt is its association with one of the ancient world’s greatest military explorers, Alexander III of Macedon (July 21, 356 BCE–June 11, 323 BCE), commonly known as Alexander the Great. Alexander’s horses are credited with the actual discovery of the Khewra Salt Mine.

Himalayan salt enjoys a range of uses: culinary products such as table salt; household products such as bath salts; industrial applications such as brine (a solution of sodium chloride in water) for de-icing and refrigeration.

The appreciation of artistic and decorative aspects of Himalayan salt dates back to the Mughal Empire (1526–1857) tradition of crafting statues and tableware, such as lamps and vases, from rock salt crystals.

Creating candle holders and lamps from the irregular, colorful surface of Himalayan salt crystals, tinged pink with iron oxide impurities, showcases the mineral’s natural beauty. Candles and low-watt light bulbs emit a warm amber glow through the rough-hewn, sculptured shapes of Himalayan salt candle holders and lamps.

Opinions are divided over other health benefits that purport to purify the air by way of natural attributes activated by heated salt crystals. For example, the heated crystals are credited with dissipation of allergens and other air pollutants as well as with dilution of odors that trouble breathing. Heated Himalayan salt crystals also are believed to emit negative ions that counteract sluggishness conveyed by positively charged particles in the air.

Health benefits aside, Himalayan salt crystals rock as candle holders and lamps.

Crystal deposits exhibit in Khewra Salt Mine, the source mine for Himalayan salt: Shikari7, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

salt lamp with tea light: Neitram, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salzlampe.jpg

Khewra Salt Mine: Shikari7, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Khewra_Salt_Mine_-_Crystal_Deposits_on_the_mine_walls.jpg

For further information:

Schimmel, Annemarie. The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture. London UK: Reaktion Books Ltd., 2004.