Lamps· Boshan Stove
2 min readIn the Han Dynasty, noble families were abundant in their production of bronze objects for daily use, such as lamps and smoking stoves.
There are various bronze lamps, in elaborate models. Many bronze lamps were found in a tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Mancheng, Hebei Province, including the abovementioned Changxin palace lamps, vermilion bird lamps, goat-cup-shaped lamps, Danghu lamps and three-legged lamps. In addition, lamps thatare bull-shaped, bird-shaped with fish in bird’s mouth, and links were found in Hanjiang and Suining in Jiangsu, Changsha in Hunan and Wuwei in Gansu. Some of these bronze articles can be seen as sculpture works.
Western Han. Boshan Stove with Divine Animal Patterm 26cm high and body diameter 15.5cm. Excavated from the tombs of Western Han in Mancheng, Hebei Province in 1968. Kept in Hebei Museum.
Ancient people used smoking stoves to burn spices and heat the house. In the Han Dynasty, on the top of most smoking stoves were overlapping mountains. This kind of stove is called Boshan stove. After the spice was lit, smoke came out from cracks among hills, as if clouds floated over mountains, stiring people’s imaginations.
Boshan stoves produced by noble families in the Han Dynasty are extremely exquisite, such as the two stoves of the Western Han Dynasty unearthed in Mancheng, Hebei. One stove’s cover has rolling hills and trees with holes, running and chasing tigers, leopards, monkeys and hunters between hills and trees. The stove stand is decorated with gilt fluffy clouds. The base features a warrior on a beast, and the warrior lifts his right hand to hold the stove’s body.A gold and silver-gilt bamboo joint smoking stove was discovered in Maoling, Xingping, Shaanxi Province. According to the inscription, the stove was an imperial bronze article in Weiyang Palace. The stove is 58cm high. The round base features two deeply carved dragons, with their mouths open to hold the bamboo joint-like long handle. The bamboo joints were carved with leaves and branches. Three dragons at the end of the handle hold the stove. The upper part of the stove is in a Boshan shape, and the middle part is embraced by a worm. The stove bottom is decorated with 10 groups of worms on leaves. Silver and gold on the stove is closely related to the model, indicating the item was elaborately designed.
Many museums in China and overseas have collected Boshan stoves of the Han Dynasty in different models, which indicate the outstanding artistic talent of craftsmen at that time.
Western Han. Gilded Smoking Stove with Silver Bamboo Burl 58cm high. Unearthed from Douma village, Xingping, Shaanxi Province in 1981. Ketp in Maoling Museum. The stove has an inscription of 35 Chinese characters on the outer surface, indicating it belonged to Weiyang Palace.
