Bronze Figural Oil-lamp

Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD)
Sculpture & Ornament, 1996

The kneeling man who supports the tray to hold the oil is modelled with great realism for a Han period bronze.  Both his physical appearance and his costume indicate that he is from one of the minority groups - perhaps the Xiongnu in the north - living a more or less autonomous existence on the borders of China