China: Gilt-bronze lamp with an adjustable shutter in the form of a young girl. Tomb of Lady Dou Wan, Mancheng, Hebei, Western Han Dynasty, early 2nd Century, c. 173 BCE

Lady Dou Wan was the wife of Liu Sheng, Prince of Zhongshan, of the Western Han Dynasty. Her tomb was discovered in 1968 in Mancheng County, Hebei. Her body was encased in a jade burial suit.

Among the artefacts found in the tomb was a gilt bronze figure of a maidservant holding an oil-lamp, the 'Changxin Palace Lamp'. Not only was the palace maid beautifully sculptured, the lamp and its cover were cleverly designed so that both the lamp's illuminating power and the direction of its rays were (and still are) adjustable.

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