Bear lamp

Well-known as a Han horned bear caryatid in previous times (d'Argencé 1972, 62, plate 24), this seated bear, carved from grayish-green jade with brownish areas and white and gray flaws, waves its front paws and carries a shallow round tray on the back of its neck. A leaf-shaped incision runs from the nose to the high forehead. The bear sits on its tail, which is incised with dense and refined parallel lines.

By the Qing period, the image of a bear with a cylinder on its neck was illustrated as a Tang period stand for columns (Liang [approx. 1700–1800] 1965, chap. 38, p. 28). Yet this type of bear has not been found in any archaeological excavations of either Han or Tang tombs. By the Han period, bears made of metal and ceramic commonly served as legs to support vessels, lamps, or architectural models; they were rarely sculpted in jade. Metal and ceramic bear legs found in Han tombs are squat, chunky forms, with no outstretched limbs; none sits on a tail carved in fine detail. The Han bears have a rectangular indent for mounting a vessel on the neck (Xuzhou Museum 1984, 36, fig. 62). Han bears, like other artifacts, had distinctive features rooted in the style of the period.

Later reproductions of bears were always modeled after illustrations but were embellished with features reflecting current fashions. This bear's menacing expression and detailed features, such as the leaf-shaped incision on the forehead and the fuzzy tail , were absolutely contrary to Han artistic concepts. Furthermore, the piece of jade is newer than material from the Han dynasty, and the brown areas around the ears and the shallow round tray have been dyed.