A BRONZE LANTERN IN THE SHAPE OF A WILD GOOSE

Description:

China, probably Western Han dynasty, 206 B.C. - 8 A.D.
H. 48 cm
Cast in several parts, with partly chiselled details and remnants of painting, the goose standing facing backwards, holding a fish in its beak, below it the lantern, which stands on the goose's back and used to be regulated via a now immobile lever. The bird in naturalistic representation with detailed moulded feet and fine plumage covering the body and neck.
From the Zeileis collection, assembled in the 1980s and 90s.
Published in: Friedrich Georg Zeileis, 'Von Shang bis Qing, Dreieinhalb Jahrtausende Chinesische Bronze', Gallspach, 1999, no. 124, pp. 330-331 - Cf. similar bronzes: Orientations, December 1987, p. 51; Orientations, December 1997, p. 57 and in: The Shaanxi Bronzes (ed. Li Xixing), Shaanxi People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 1994, p. 354, no. 319 - Partial corrosion, minor damages and repairs, traces of age