Lot Essay
In Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 142, the authors, Jessica Rawson and Emma Bunker, note that an almost identical lamp is in the British Museum.
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THE PROPERTY OF A HONG KONG PRIVATE COLLECTOR
A RARE SMALL BRONZE FIGURAL LAMP
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 8)
Details
A RARE SMALL BRONZE FIGURAL LAMP
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 8)
The base of the lamp is cast as a figure with an almost beak-like mouth, prominent eyes and hair drawn back into a point on the back of the head, shown kneeling on a footed plinth. His left hand rests on his knee and his extended right hand holds the stem of the lamp, which is surmounted by a shallow circular tray that would have held the wick.
5 ½ in. (14 cm.) high
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 8)
The base of the lamp is cast as a figure with an almost beak-like mouth, prominent eyes and hair drawn back into a point on the back of the head, shown kneeling on a footed plinth. His left hand rests on his knee and his extended right hand holds the stem of the lamp, which is surmounted by a shallow circular tray that would have held the wick.
5 ½ in. (14 cm.) high
Provenance
Acquired in Hong Kong by 1990.
Literature
J. Rawson and E. Bunker, Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1990, pp. 142-43, no. 46.
Exhibited
Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, 12 October - 2 December 1990.