A RARE AND IMPORTANT ARCHAIC BRONZE SNAKE LAMP, WARRING STATES/EARLY WESTERN HAN DYNASTY, the sinuous snake gliding effortlessly up, his body bending six times as his wide jaws engulf one side of the three-lobed channelled oil tray with three prickets, all counterbalanced perfectly by his lower body loosely and naturalistically coiled along the ground forming the base, his lightly cast 'D' shaped scales expanding at the apex of the bend and shrinking on the opposite side, the overall surface covered in a green patina with light patches of malachite and cuprite encrustation. 52cm high Provenance: Sotheby's New York, March 31 - April 1, 2005, Lot 162 Gallery J J Lally, New York Note: Cast in the form of a snake, the simple design of this lamp suggests that it may have been influenced by the art of the Chu State. Snake form lamps are exceptionally rare; one other known example is a Zhou dynasty bronze ornament in the shape of a coiled snake in the Musee Guimet, Paris and illustrated in Alain Thote's 'Aspects of the Serpent on Eastern Zhou Bronzes and Lacquerware', Colloquies on Art and Archaeolgoy in Asian, no 15: The Problem and Meaning in Early Chinese Ritual Bronzes, London 1990, p152, pl 3. Far more common for the Han Dynasty were goose foot lamps; examples of which can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and Shanghai Museum, China. Here, the body of the snake bends six times as it winds upwards, its jaws engulfing one side of the three-lobed channelled oil tray, whilst its tail coils at the base in perfect counterbalance. The body has lightly cast 'D' shaped scales; the surface covered in a green patina with patches of malachite and cuprite encrustation. The Bronze Age of China began in 1700 BC and declined after the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220AD). During the Han Dynasty lamps became the main source of lighting and an important household item. Lamps also provided light for the soul's path to the afterlife and most lamps in existence today have been excavated from tombs. The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of the thermoluminescence test, Oxford Authentication, Ltd, no. C204c75.