北朝至隋 青釉陶燈|Lamp

Unknown

second half 6th century · Earthenware with relief decoration under green glazes · Asian Art

While lions are not native to China, there is evidence that some specimens had reached China from the West by the Western Han (206 B.C.–A.D. 9) period. With the firm establishment of Buddhism in China in the Six Dynasties (220–589) period, lions-regarded as defenders of the faith and of the Buddhist law-began to be used in a specifically Buddhist context. The two types of relief lotus petals that circle the bowl and the bottom of this footed lamp were also a popular ornamental motif in sixth-century Buddhist art.

Artist

Unknown

Date

second half 6th century

Medium

Earthenware with relief decoration under green glazes

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1927