A gilt copper alloy figure of Laozi, cast by the artist Chen Yanqing and dated by its own inscription to 1438, during the Ming dynasty. The figure presents Laozi in the devotional register of a Daoist immortal rather than only as a philosopher, part of a class of gilt icons produced for temple and household worship in Ming China. Held today by the Metropolitan Museum of Art under accession 1997.139, purchased in 1997 through Friends of Asian Art Gifts.
Facts
Subject Matter
Devotional FunctionGilt bronze icons of this Ming dynasty class were typically commissioned by a named individual patron for donation to a specific Daoist temple, and the cast inscription giving the date functions as a permanent record of that act of religious merit, the same donor-inscription practice already well documented on Buddhist icons of the period and evidence that Daoist temple patronage followed comparable devotional conventions. 1 Physical Form
MediumGilt copper alloy figure, Chen Yanqing, dated 1438, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1997.139 1 Medium (class) Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source Daoist Immortal Laozi, accession 1997.139 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Depicts
Laozi, Figures The figure's directly named subject per the museum's own title, "Daoist immortal Laozi," dated by the object's own inscription to 1438 and matching the Ming-era Daoist-immortal portrait convention the corroborating Wikipedia record independently describes for him.
Source Daoist Immortal Laozi, accession 1997.139 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Additional Source Laozi (Wikipedia)
Originated In
China, Regions Source Daoist Immortal Laozi, accession 1997.139 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Sources
1. Daoist Immortal Laozi, accession 1997.139 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Metropolitan Museum of Artcatalogue record, medium/object-type description
A gilt copper alloy figure of Laozi, cast by the artist Chen Yanqing and dated by its own inscription to 1438, during the Ming dynasty.
Originated In: China, Object record: Culture
Culture: China
View the Source The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Daoist Immortal Laozi (Metropolitan Museum of Art open access record)
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtIn Group: Daoist Deities and Immortals in Art, Open access record: titleQuote, In Group: Daoist Deities and Immortals in Art, Open access record: title
"title": "Daoist Immortal Laozi"
Laozi (Wikipedia)
WikipediaDepicts: LaoziQuote, Depicts: Laozi
A Ming-era portrait shows Laozi as a venerable sage, the same devotional convention later gilt figures of him follow.
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