Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Lamp with Nine Branches
Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
Not on view
Multibranch lamps were popular in ancient China. The present example has a surmounting oil tray in the shape of a waterbird, possibly a duck. Its nine branches are arranged in three tiers, each carrying a small heart-shaped tray with a spike at the center to hold a wick. The lamp was discovered in a large, lavishly furnished tomb, possibly that of a government official, in the far southwest of the empire. Found together with a complete set of ritual vessels, costumes, and lacquerwares, the lamp demonstrates the reach and influence of the central government.
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