Set of Three Ho Ho Boy Oil Lamps

Each of these early 20th-century ceramic oil lamps is formed in the shape of a young boy, a motif often referred to as a "ho ho boy." Children were a popular motif in Chinese art, and were considered lucky talismans, especially for prospective parents. As though balancing a basket on his head, each ho ho boy is topped with a small cup for burning oil, possibly for use during ancestor worship on a domestic altar.