The Daoist Immortal Magu

first half 16th century

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

This image is likely of Magu (or Mako in Japanese), a female immortal who lived as a recluse in the wilderness, searching for potent plants and fungi that promised to prolong life. Here she emerges from the woods carrying her finds: a basket of flowers and a piece of ginseng root. Magu is accompanied by a monkey who holds a peach, a symbol of immortality. Although little is known about the artist, many of Kōboku’s works were derived from images created by Zen monk-painters in eastern Japan. This work forms a pair with a scroll, now in the Cleveland Museum of Art, showing another female immortal attended by a deer.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

興牧筆　麻姑
Title: The Daoist Immortal Magu
Artist: Kōboku (Japanese, active mid-16th century)
Period: Muromachi period (1392–1573)
Date: first half 16th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions: Image: 17 1/2 × 11 1/16 in. (44.5 × 28.1 cm)
Overall with mounting: 47 × 15 1/2 in. (119.4 × 39.4 cm)
Overall with knobs: 47 × 17 3/8 in. (119.4 × 44.1 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Lent by John C. Weber Collection
Curatorial Department: Asian Art