Antique Female Attendant with Offerings, China (19035BKE) $595

Description

Statues of attendants generally appear as a pair that looks inward and flanks a deity, unless they are important ones who look straight ahead. They may carry a range of items including offerings. This antique Chinese woodcarving appears to be a Taoism image that probably was placed on a home altar along with figures of other house gods and ancestors to bring wishes of fu, translated as happiness, blessings and good fortune, to the household. She has the  blissful expression, pursed lips in a serene smile and downcast eyes of a reverent attendant. Her hair flows down her back under a decorative cap as she  wears a traditional high collared outer robe over a shorter undergarment with a front broad sash. Hands held at her chest covered by a ritual cloth, she holds a plate with offerings of 3 dumplings or pieces of fruit, possibly a peach trio, Chinese longevity symbols. A three-item offering is a pun for a group of three ancient gold or silver coins known as tael or yuanbao,  a symbol of wealth. They also represent a wish for high status by passing of three different levels of examinations in China’s imperial examination system that lead to a career in civil service. The back cavity indicates she was consecrated. It is in very good condition for its age and use with expected cracks, wood losses and deterioration to the base and it is mounted on a modern crafted  frosted Acrylic base.

Sources

Patricia Bjaaland Welch, Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Images, Vermont, Tuttle Publishing, 2008.

Keith Stevens, Chinese Gods: The Unseen World of Spirits and Demons, London, Collins and Brown, 1997.