Antique Folk Art Home Altar or Temple Female Attendant, Lucite Stand China (19013)

Description

This image was difficult to identify without specific markings. According to AI she is an attendant, lesser immortal  or a handmaiden who likely was either part of a larger temple set or a specific regional female immortal. Her double-loop topknot and layered bureaucratic robes were classic traditional styles  for young female attendants, maidens, or lesser immortals. Her clasped hands under her wide sleeves were designed hold a rounded object or vessel traditional for providing an offering ,such as a magic peach, a jewel, or a tea cup.

The deep, natural shrinkage crack  down the back of the head and through the center of the throne is  a clear indication its genuine 19th-century folk-art origin. The piece is in very goodbut rugged shape with the outer lacquer coating having  worn away, with some traces of the recessed areas of the original red mineral pigment. The back of the piece is remarkably well conceived and carved with attention to details. The covered cavity in the center of the chair’s backrest is uniquely and skillfully framed as a rectangular by the vertical and horizontal bars of the throne indicating that the piece was consecrated.

Mounted on a Lucite base.

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