Changxin Palace Lanterns

This lantern with unique style is metal craft masterpiece of the Western Han Dynasty. It shapes up the image of a court maid holding lantern: She holds lamp holder with her left hand, and covers the sleeve on the lantern with right hand, who seems to hold the lantern for lighting. This craftwork is gilt with gold on whole body, which is dazzling. Over its body, nine inscriptions respectively record lantern capacity, weight and its owner. Due to the characters “Chang Xin”, hence “Changxin Palace Lantern” is named after. This craftwork features beautiful image, exquisite design and the whole body consisting of six detachable parts (i.e., head, body, right arm, lamp holder, lamp panel and lampshade). Its brightness and direction can be adjusted. This is a treasure integrating artistry and practicality in one.

Lanterns

Lantern is lighting apparatus. During the Warring States Period, people started using copper lanterns for lighting. In the Han Dynasty, lanterns were widely used. The Han Dynasty was the heyday of copper lantern production. In the Han Dynasty, bronze lanterns fell into plate lantern, siphon lantern, rolling lantern, walking lantern and hanging lantern. Changxin Palace Lantern is siphon lantern. Such lantern has body with rainbow tube, and lamp holder can be fifi lled with water. With use of siphon, the smoke can be absorbed into the holder so that the smoke is dissolved in water to avoid air pollution. Siphon lanterns show animal shapes, such as ox-shaped lantern and wide goose-shaped lantern. Bronze lanterns of the Han Dynasty boast rich and colorful shapes and beautiful body, which are fit for users’ demand and conforms to the scientific principle. The lanterns can be used for lighting and furnishings, which achieve the practical and aesthetic unity.

Arts and Crafts of the Qin and Han Dynasties

The Qin Dynasty lasted for a short time, leaving few arts and crafts works mainly including bronze ware , lacquer ware , potteryware, ceramics, dyeing and jadeware. The early Han Dynasty of the most prosperous era of arts and crafts in initial phase of China’s feudal society. On the basis of the Qin Dynasty, creation developed, a large number of species increases, production and materials saw more innovative elements, which made high artistic achievements. They are mainly embodied in the production of bronzeware, goldware and silverware, potteryware, dyeing, lacquer ware, stone carving and jade carving.

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