Hand-painted ceramic with cast pewter base, collar, and turned wooden knob. 

 This piece can be had as a covered container, or as a lamp with hand-made silk shade, lined, and carrying the Victoria & Richard signature finial crest of cast pewter  

Also known as quicksilver, mercury is the only common metal, (well, I wouldn't exactly say common) liquid at room temperature.  It is silvery-white, (and pale pink with a touch of gold and bronze) extremely dense and mobile (We walked around with it and it is in deed mobile).  In its solid form mercury is tin-white, ductile and malleable. (This is a fallacy, actually).  It is a poor conductor of heat (a good quality for a lamp), a fair conductor of electricity (Yes, and there are very few fair conductors in the world today.) and one of the more volatile metals. (another form of creativity)  Mercury easily alloys with metals, such as gold, silver, and tin. ( It also complements any home décor.)