Antique Home Altar Mazu, Protector of the Sea, China (19013ZRK) SPECIAL PRICE
Original price was: $425.00.$361.25Current price is: $361.25.
H: 9” W: 6.525” D: 2.5 | FREE SHIPPING WITHIN CONTINENTAL U.S.
This home devotional image, finely carved in the round, represents Mazu, the most revered Taoist female deity in coastal areas in mainland China, Taiwan and Vietnam. She sits in a traditional deity pose, hands covered by a ritual cloth with a space to hold a hu tablet on a plain armless high back chair. She is a provincial matronly figure, eyes calmly cast down and dressed in humble attire with characteristically small feet, a hanging red sash, and a modest hat with a flat phoenix.
Description
After her death at age 28, Mazu was immortalized as a cult figure and worshipped as a one of the tutelary Taoist deities as “the Protector at Sea” among seafarers in coastal China and was worshipped especially by older women. In oral legends, she was the daughter of a Buddhist fisherman, revered for her filial piety and kindness, a shaman skilled in Chinese medicine, navigation, and astronomy, and a spiritual healer. Her popularity spread during the Ming and Qing dynasties when hundreds of imperial and cultural temples were dedicated to her housing imperially sanctioned images. In provincial areas, local artisans carved small wood images to place on home altars portraying her as a pure, humble, and compassionate goddess. Dressed in peasant robes with a phoenix in her hat, often associated with provincial Mazu, she was a matronly mother, grandmother, or aunt-like figure affectionately called Ma Tsu P’o ( grandma Matsu) and Aunt Lin, her family name which reinforced her role as a mother who protects her child even though she was childless. It is believed anyone needing her assistance should call her by her casual name or she would have to suit up in her imperial regalia and be delayed. Irwin calls her one of the Great Chinese Goddesses who are imperially sanctioned and epitomized the feminine role of compassionate protectors granting health, long life and safety to all devotees in distress. Made for a home altar, this was originally covered with gilt, red polychrome, and lacquer now dulled from incense smoke and is in very good condition with expected age losses and cracks. The closed cavity with original covering bong on the back indicates it was consecrated in an eye-opening ceremony.
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Sources:
Lee Irwin, “Divinity and Salvation: The Great Goddesses of China,” in Asian Folklore Studies, Indiana University, Vol. 49, 1990, pp 53-68.
Claudia Monique, “Matsu/Mazu Goddess of Sea,” May 20, 2014.
Additional information
| Weight | 5 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 8 × 8 × 8 in |
| Period | Antique, Qing Dynasty |
| Date | 19th Century |
| Materials and Technique | Wood |
| Dimensions (inches) | Ht: 9” W: 6.525” D: 2.5” |
| Dimensions (metric) | Ht: 22.86cm W: 16.5735cm D: 6.35cm |
| Condition | Very Good, expected signs of age and use. |
| Item Number | 19013ZRK |
| Shipping Box Size |