Antique Red and Gilt Lacquered Ancestral Tablet , China (10507)

Description

Most Chinese homes had (and still have) a home altar in the central hall or living room against the north wall on simple tables or built in cabinet. Most home altars or those in ancestral halls or temple shrines held a flat wood Ancestral Memorial Tablet with inscribed ancestor’s identifying information. These tablets are the home in which the ancestor’s spirit reside. Religious officials consecrate the tablets through prayers and chants to summon the spirit to inhabit the tablet and brushed a vermilion dot or completed the final inscription character. The gold-gilded characters on a red background are traditional for the Qing dynasty and represent prosperity and the high status of the ancestors within the family hierarchy. The three sections of the tablet translates as “The spiritual seat of the Honorable Heng, whose formal name was Baolai, and his consorts from the Zheng and Chen families.” Basically it identifies the male ancestor, names his two wives, and designates this object as the specific location where their spirits are invited to reside and receive offerings from their descendants.

This Ancestral Tablet is a departure from standard tablets. Highly decorative with a red and gilt lacquered finish and scalloped borders, it is topped by a separate finely carved oval panel with the Three Stars Gods Fu, Lu  and Shou on celestial clouds. This trio is rarely depicted on Ancestral Tablets as they represent fortune, prosperity, and longevity which are blessings for the living, rather than honoring the deceased.

Tablets were arranged by generation with older generations placed higher than more recent ones. An incense burner was placed in front of the Tablet, often filled with rice to hold incense sticks. Candles, flower vases and water cups are placed on either side of the tablet. In temples or ancestral halls, they are routinely blessed by attending monks or priests.