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Daoist immortal Laozi

Chen Yanqing Chinese
1438
Not on view
Identified by his full beard, Laozi is the quasi-historical author of the seminal Daoist text Dao de jing (The Way and Its Power). In addition to its sumptuous gilding and sensitive presentation, this sculpture is remarkable for its long inscription on the underside of the pendant robe indicating that it was commissioned by an official from a northwestern frontier city for his mother in the Ming capital, Nanjing.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 明早期　陳彥清造鎏金銅老子像
  • Title: Daoist immortal Laozi
  • Artist: Chen Yanqing (active 15th century)
  • Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
  • Date: 1438
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Gilt copper alloy
  • Dimensions: H. 7 1/2 in. (19 cm); W. 4 3/4 in. (12 cm); D. 2 3/4 in. (7 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 1997
  • Object Number: 1997.139
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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