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"Jingning" goosefoot lamp

33 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 216
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
The lamp’s title derives from its inscription, which dates it to the first year of the Jingning reign of the Han dynasty (33 BCE). In the 1830s, the Buddhist monk, artist, and connoisseur Liuzhou made a full-figure rubbing (quanxingta) of the lamp in which he included himself—a recognition for having cleaned off corrosion to reveal a missing character in the ancient inscription.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 西漢　竟寧雁足燈
  • Title: "Jingning" goosefoot lamp
  • Period: Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220)
  • Date: 33 BCE
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: H. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); Diam. 5 1/16 in. (12.9 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Lent by Shanghai Museum
  • Rights and Reproduction: Photograph courtesy of Shanghai Museum
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art