A bronze oil lamp, Tang dynasty | 唐 銅天王花式五足燈

A bronze oil lamp

Tang dynasty

唐 銅天王花式五足燈

five leaf-form feet arching to support a wide circular drip pan with an everted rim, a conical post rising from the center of the pan and opening into a second pan modeled as a lotus blossom with naturalistic undulating petals, then extending further to support a small hexalobed oil cup at the pinnacle, in the lower drip pan three jovial lokapala modeled completely in the round each extending one arm up to support the central lotus-form pan and swinging their other arm merrily outward, the guardians dressed in tunics and armor and with their characteristic bulging eyes and high cheekbones

Height 4⅞ in., 12.4 cm