An opium lamp was used to heat a small blob of opium which was pasted on the bowl of an opium pipe. The bowl was held upside down over the flame of the lamp until the opium started to evaporate and the fumes could be inhaled through the pipe of the smoker. This lamp is made of paktong (Quick Find 2351), also called ‘Nickel silver’ as well as copper and brass. The rim is pierced with auspicious symbols. The glass of the lamp is missing. The oil lamp was made around 1920 in the Republic period (1912 – 1947) and is marked on the bottom with two stamped Chinese characters. One reads ‘Bao Yuan Tai’ (寳元泰) which is presumably the name of a shop and the other one is the brand name ‘Yun Bai (雲白) which translates to ‘White cloud’. The lamp entered our collection about thirty years ago from Shanghai. Height 5.9 cm. Width 7.4 cm.