Classic bronze bull lamp

Among them, the most famous one is the silver-mixed bronze bull lamp unearthed from the Eastern Han Tomb in Hanjiang, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province in 1980 (Figure 1). The lamp is 64.2 cm high and 37.6 cm long. The lower part of the object is made up of the image of a cow. The cow stood with its head down and its horns tilted upward, making it look vigorous and heavy as a whole. A cylindrical lamp holder is installed in the center of the cow's back, and two rotatable tile lampshades are installed on the lamp with handle to form a dome, which is decorated with diamond-shaped lattice holes and small rings. There is an elbow on the bull's head connected to the dome of the lamp holder. The cow's body, lamp holder and top cover are all detachable, and the whole body is decorated with staggered silver patterns, mainly moire, triangular moire and spiral pattern. , exquisite, complicated and gorgeous. This bronze bull lamp is the essence of bronze lamp and the treasure of the town hall of Nanjing Museum. It appears in many cultural relics catalogues and postcards.

There are also two bronze bull lights, which are also very nice. 1949 bronze bull lamp unearthed from a tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Changsha, Hunan Province (Figure 2), 50 cm high and 40 cm long, resembling a buffalo with drooping ears and short legs. It stands upright in the form of a circular tube from both sides of the shoulder and back, bends to meet at the upper end of the cow's back, and then expands downward to form a bowl-shaped pipe. There is a round hole in the center of the back, and a round lamp disc with a handle is placed on the hole. There is a cone in the disc, and there is a groove on the edge for putting the windshield. There is also 1975 bronze bull lamp unearthed from the Eastern Han Tomb in Liulou, Suining, Jiangsu Province (Figure 3). The lamp is 26.5cm high and 2 1cm long, and consists of a cow body, a lamp body and a lampshade. The cow's body is round and solid, with its head down, its horns hunched, its eyes wide open, its tail tilted, its expression simple and honest, and it is strong and powerful. The lamp consists of a lamp holder, a lamp board and a lampshade. Both the lamp board and the lampshade can be rotated in any direction to adjust the brightness and lighting direction. The top of the lampshade is a dome-shaped hood with a circular tubular flue connected to the double corners on the bull's head. The bull's head is hollow, and its body and dome are covered with moire. The whole lamp is novel in shape and full of interest. After three bronze cow lamps are lit, smoke can enter the cow's abdomen through the smoke pipe, and the abdomen contains clear water to dissolve the smoke, thus keeping the indoor air fresh. This invention is also in a leading position in the history of lamps in the world. It was not until15th century that Leonardo da Vinci invented the tin lampshade for oil lamps in the west, which was more than 500 years later than China.