CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

135
Bronze ram-shaped lamp
Height 18.6 (/Vs), length 23.0 (9 Vs)
Western Han Dynasty, late second century BCE
(c. 113)
From the tomb of Liu Sheng at Lingshan,
Mancheng, Hebei Province
Hebei Provincial Museum, Shijiazhuang
Lamps appear relatively late in the repertoire of
Chinese bronzes, and seem to have come into use
only during the Eastern Zhou period. Fine examples
dating to the mid-fourth century have come from
the tombs of the early Zhongshan kingdom of the
Di people; these tombs contain spectacular examples,
one in the shape of a tree, from which hang
various monkeys, and another in the form of an
unusual being, perhaps an immortal, holding lamp
trays supported by snakes. 1 Other pieces from the
Chu state in the south include lamps held in the
404 EARLY IMPERIAL CHINA