Antique Queen Mother of the West Casting Out Demons, China (16093BSK) $585

Description

The Queen Mother of the West is one of the most significant of the female Taoist-deities and as a syncretic deity, has a huge Popular Religion and Buddhist cult following.  She is one of the Great Chinese Goddesses and patron deity of women who controls life and death, creation and destruction and determines the life span of all living beings. Her Images appear in local temples and shrines. On her birthday, Taoists, especially women, pray to her to grant health and longevity.  During the Qing Dynasty, local provincial artisans made wood carvings of her to place on a home altar which differed from those sanctioned by religious, imperial, or government entities. Provincial carvings like this are more like folk-art, modest and charming rather than ornate or refined. Her crown in this antique-Chinese-wood-carving contains her iconic phoenix over her pendulous ears dressed in a high-necked outer garment with an ornamental disc and a scarf from her girdle. Her hand is in karana mudra to cast out demons, negative energy and purify infected spaces. Her face was probably repainted decades ago as was common with spiritual images. This image which was was placed on a home altar and consecrated with a sealed and lacquered bung is in very good condition with surface losses and cracks consistent with age. This carving is part of the VA Collection of Deities-and-Legends.

Click here for the Blog Consecrating Wooden Images to Imbue Them with A Life Force.

Click here for the Blog The Queen Mother of the West Xiwangmu: Taoism’s Iconic Female Sovereign of Immortals