AN OVAL BRONZE FOLDING OIL LAMP, DENG, HAN DYNASTYChina, 206 BC to 220 AD. The lamp is made in the shape of an ear cup and raised on a narrow foot ring. One side of the cover is hinged and has a spout at one end and a pricket on the interior. The cover is divided into quadrants cast with dragons and tigers separated by a central panel with inscriptions and set with tiny loops similar to a third at one end of the lamp. The dragon and tiger motifs are repeated on the handles.Inscriptions: To the central panel, ‘[…] zi ji’.Provenance: Guy Portier, Paris, France, 22 February 1969. Dr. Wou Kiuan, acquired from the above. Wou Lien-Pai Museum, coll. no. H.1.1. Guy Portier (1919-2005) was an important French auctioneer and Asian art expert. His father André specialized in the import of silk from the Far East and later served as an expert in the sales of major French collections of Asian art. Guy was in charge of the silk department of the familypany until he took over in 1942, gradually focusing on Far Eastern works of art, Japanese prints being one of his passions. In 1967, he included a list of estimates for the objects put up for sale in one of his catalogs for the first time, back in these days a revolutionary change. The familypany, Cabinet Portier, still exists to this day. Dr. Wou Kiuan (1910-1997) was a Chinese diplomat and noted scholar of Chinese art.Condition: Very good condition,mensurate with age. Extensive wear, minor losses, signs of weathering and erosion, small nicks, light scratches. Fine, naturally grown, rich patina with malachite and cuprite encrustations.Weight: 287.6 gDimensions: Length 10 cmDr. Wou’s immense passion and superior knowledge sometimes allowed him to pick up unusual and exquisite Chinese works of art with rare inscriptions, right under the noses of the most experienced dealers and collectors of his days, simply because most of them were unable to read Chinese. The present lot is yet another testimonial to this fact.Literatureparison:A closely related bronze oil lamp, also dated to the Han dynasty, is illustrated in Bronze Articles for Daily Use: Theplete Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2006, no. 90. It is inscribed yi zi sun ji ('blessings for future generations') in the center panel of the cover. Note that two of these characters (‘zi’ and ‘ji’) are also found on the present lot. A closely related bronze oil lamp, 13 cm long, also dated to the Han dynasty, is in the Art Institute of Chicago, reference number 1930.907, illustrated by C.F. Kelley and Chen Mengjia in Chinese Bronzes from the Buckingham Collection, 1946, p. 199, pl. LXIX.Auction resultparison:Type: Near-identicalAuction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 2013, lot 1245Price: USD 30,000 or approx.EUR 36,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A small bronze oval oil lamp, Han dynastyExpert rema