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When ancestral images are taken out of context they are very difficult to identify so we describe them in generic terms as a Chinese Officials or Taoist Officials. This antique-Chinese-wood-carving may represent the noted historical figure the principal regent Dorgon of the first Qing Emperor Shunzhi who ruled from 1643-1650 as a”quasi” emperor based on…
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…
Ancestor worship has been practiced throughout China using carved wood figures of deities, monks, priests and ancestor figures on home altars. In recent years there has been a resurgence of ancestor worship, especially in local Chinese communities practices by Buddhists, Taoists, and Popular Religion followers. Carvings of Taoist priests called daoshi often hold Taoist symbols…
While major deities such as Guandi were officially sanctioned by government and religious authorities, many popular deities and historic figures were integrated into Popular Religion beliefs where they were assimilated and greatly modified with local traditions and iconographic depictions such as this. We assume this is Guandi, one of the most revered Chinese deities based…
While most families have had prints or paper-cuts of the Kitchen-God with or without his wife above their stove, carved wood images with a lacquer coating tended to be owned by wealthier families. The Kitchen God is syncretic as a Taoist, Popular Religion and Buddhist tutelary deity who protects the home and its inhabitants, observes…
Images of Taoist priests were often placed on a home altar along with other spiritual images, ancestral tablets and ancestor figures to honor the departed family members, practice familial piety and ancestor-worship, and request good fortune to the family dwelling and its household. Priests were called daoshi (道士 “master of the Tao”) identified by his…
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…
Stone reliefs or mold made earthenware brick tiles were made for ancestor worship and to decorate doors and the walls of tombs, temples and other structures from the Han Dynasty onwards. As China expanded its trade along the Silk Roads in the Song dynasty, foreign artistic influences began to be seen in the expanded use…
The Song dynasty (960–1279CE) is considered the most culturally brilliant era in later imperial Chinese history. A massive expansion produced government and public buildings and tombs with walls decorated with earthenware unglazed mold made brick tiles. Some were purely decorative and others were wishes for happiness and comfort in live and deceased people’s afterlife called mingqi. With…
Banquet scenes and feasts have been part of Chinese art and culture for millennia. They include celebrations of important rituals and social events, both public and private. These can be religious or social rituals, funerary practices performed by families filling their obligations of filial piety, family fêtes, scenes of scholarly gatherings, casual feasts for couples and…
This human figure is an honored Dayak effigy called a hampatong, the name used for both ancestor and protective human and mythical animal figures made from Borneo ‘iron wood’. The Dayak people are indigenous to Borneo (Kalimantan), Indonesia, the world’s 3rd largest island with 4.6 million members comprised of over 200 ethnic subgroups. Residing in…
Unglazed earthenware pottery cocoon jars were used extensively during the Han dynasty as mingqi, items made for placement in tombs to comfort the deceased on their journey to the afterlife. These ancient pottery vessels were ancestral objects, part of ancestor worship, made to revere and honor the deceased, fulfill Chinese duties of filial piety, and have…
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