A Taotie (tao tie, tao tieh, t’ao t’ieh) is a mythical creature used as a decorative motif on bronze devotional and wine vessels in the Shang (1750-1045 BCE) through Zhou (1045-221 BCE) dynasties, allegedly as warnings to avoid sin, and were placed prominently in officials’ halls to remind them of the dangers of self-indulgence and gluttony. Although considered a full functioning animal, the taotie was usually a horned image with just parts of a face, composed of profiles of dragon-like beasts facing each other with bulging circular eyes and heavy eyebrows with a lei design pattern representing thunder or with an anima-like broad flat nose and an open gaping mouth with no jaw suggesting a huge capacity for swallowing. There is no consensus, but some believe it had such an appetite that it ate its own head. It is sometimes depicted religious officials or shamans hats to warn against greed and excess and as a guardian figure to protect against bad spirits.
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This 5-piece apple green glazed stoneware home altar set includes a central large censor flanked by rising pairs of candlestick holders and vases. These folk art ceramics were made at the Shiwan kilns in a small town near Foshan City in Guangdong Province where renowned, popular and well modeled pieces with vivid expression and colorful…
This fine antique Chinese wood carving was likely placed in a clan shrine or home altar with other religious images, ancestor figures or folk heroes reflecting the Chinese syncretic tradition that adhered to multiple spiritual and belief systems. Although it is difficult to identify specific figures, this image is likely a Taoist priest in officials…
One of the most important and revered Taoist deities, Zhenwu was a protector of the state and the imperial family venerated for his ability to heal and protect China and its emperor and during imperial dynastic times, he was considered a patron of soldiers and a protector of national security. He was a renowned emperor,…
This image from Guandong wears typical Taoist priest or shaman attire – an undergarment crossed at the neck, an overcoat clasped at the waist and a double-winged high hat centered with an image of a taotie. The taotie is a mystical animal sometimes on the hat of Taoist priests or shamans as a guardian or…
The end of Guandi’s name (di) is significant, as Chinese names ending with di refer to an imperial cult and their canonized status. A military general late in the Han dynasty who died in 220AD, he was deified during the MIng in 1594 and was declared The God of War and Justice and Protector of…
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