[The boxwood round sculpture of Li Tieguai]
The boxwood round sculpture of Li Tieguai is 35.7cm high
The figure stands with a gourd on the shoulder, dressed in ragged clothes, and wrapped in a knotted leaf skirt. It is bony, with curly beard and sideburns, bare feet, one leg limping up, one leg standing upright, and a crutch on the right armpit frame. The left arm is raised, and a spider is held in the hand. The lower part of the back skirt is engraved with the official script of “Zhizheng 2-year system” in the shade. The second year of Zhizheng, namely 1342
Li Tieguai is one of the eight immortals in folklore. After the Yuan Dynasty, various legends about the Eight Immortals became more and more bizarre, and various sculptures with the theme of the Eight Immortals were also very numerous in the arts and crafts creation
This kind of Kundra style of art, which wraps around the waist and armpits, has a horizontal scarf on the right, has a short skirt on the lower body, pays attention to the expression of muscles and emphasizes the carving of clothing patterns, is very popular in stone carving in the Tang Dynasty. The bald forehead is also the main feature of Arhat in sculpture and painting in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Li Tieguai, carved with various texture materials, is of different shapes. The author of this work carved the portrait of Li Tieguai based on the round carving technique and the need for Arhat. At the same time, he also noticed the accuracy in the proportion of the figure and the texture of the muscles, and depicted the look of Li Tieguai with great delicacy. Although it is a poor beggar with a beautiful appearance, it does not hide its fairy spirit, especially the narrowed eyes drive the facial muscles, showing a compassionate and aloof spirit. The knife technique is smooth and vigorous, and the carving technique is exquisite, which provides us with important data for studying the small wood carving technology of the Yuan Dynasty
![图片[1]-The round sculpture of Li Tieguai in boxwood-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Yuan dynasty/Bamboo and wood tooth gourd/1295[1024].jpg)
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