Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1644-1700 (circa)
Materials:soapstone
Technique:carved
Dimensions:Height: 25 centimetres Width: 14.50 centimetres Depth: 11.50 centimetres
Description:
Figure (Guandi / Guan Yu). Made of soapstone, stone (steatite).This soapstone sculpture depicts an imposing man, fondling his long beard in one hand and gripping the arm of the chair in the other. He is seated in a horse-shoe back chair, with bamboo arms, which is draped with a tiger skin – the head of which rests beneath his feet. Diverse textures of his battle armour, broad belt, boots, cape and hat are all carefully suggested using different carving techniques. His form is not naturalistic but exaggerated. Elongated upturned eyes and the pose of clutching his beard are all theatrical gestures belonging to the tradition of illustrated Chinese narratives.
IMG
![图片[1]-figure BM-SLMisc.1174-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Qin dynasty/43/mid_00091289_001.jpg)
Comments:Sir Hans Sloane’s ‘Miscellanea’ catalogue is a bound volume in Central Archives containing seven separate catalogues: ‘Miscellanies’, ‘Antiquities’, ‘Seals’, ‘Pictures’, ‘Mathematical Instruments’, ‘Agate Handles’ and ‘Agate Cups, Bottles, Spoons’. Each contains numbered entries that list and describe objects collected by Sloane between the 1680s and 1750s. Each catalogue begins with object number one. Text from Sloane Miscellanea catalogue: Miscellanea Miscellanies 1174 “1174. A Chinese man sitting in an elbow chair switcing up his long beard commonly thought to be done in rice past, or a sort of alabaster.” This sculpture may be identified as Guandi who is the deified form of the historical hero General Guan Yu who lived in the late second to early third centuries AD. His exploits were dramatised in oral tales, dramas and the renowned Ming novel San Guo Zhi Yan Yi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms). Guan Yu was a loyal supporter of the Han pretender Liu Bei in his bid to continue the Han state in Shu (present day Sichuan province). Indeed together with Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, Guan Yu’s three-way oath of everlasting loyalty, sworn in the Peach Orchard, provides a perfect model for faithfulness, reliance and honesty. As a popular god, Guandi was venerated as a symbol of loyalty and trust having sacrificed his life for his principles. Guandi is also the patron god of merchants, emblematic of good faith in business. As well as shrines dedicated to Guandi, he was also associated with the type of literati shrine known as a wenwu miao (temple of literature and martial values).Soapstone or talc is among the softest of all stones, making it ideal for small scale sculptures. As its name suggests it is slippery to the touch and naturally occurs with brown and cream hues. In common with jade carvers, much of the skill of the soapstone carver was in identifying the stone suitable for the subject and the subject suitable for the stone. In the hierarchy of Chinese material culture soapstone falls behind jade, bamboo and even ivory and consequently there is little contemporary literature describing its working.Soapstone carvings were prominent in early European collections of Chinese art. Western merchants who came to do business in the south-eastern costal regions of China, such as Fujian and Guangdong, from the 16th century readily acquired them there.Guandi was not made specifically for export but was carved as part of a domestic trade in figural ornaments that was available for purchase by Chinese and foreigner alike.
Materials:soapstone
Technique:carved
Dimensions:Height: 25 centimetres Width: 14.50 centimetres Depth: 11.50 centimetres
Description:
Figure (Guandi / Guan Yu). Made of soapstone, stone (steatite).This soapstone sculpture depicts an imposing man, fondling his long beard in one hand and gripping the arm of the chair in the other. He is seated in a horse-shoe back chair, with bamboo arms, which is draped with a tiger skin – the head of which rests beneath his feet. Diverse textures of his battle armour, broad belt, boots, cape and hat are all carefully suggested using different carving techniques. His form is not naturalistic but exaggerated. Elongated upturned eyes and the pose of clutching his beard are all theatrical gestures belonging to the tradition of illustrated Chinese narratives.
IMG
Comments:Sir Hans Sloane’s ‘Miscellanea’ catalogue is a bound volume in Central Archives containing seven separate catalogues: ‘Miscellanies’, ‘Antiquities’, ‘Seals’, ‘Pictures’, ‘Mathematical Instruments’, ‘Agate Handles’ and ‘Agate Cups, Bottles, Spoons’. Each contains numbered entries that list and describe objects collected by Sloane between the 1680s and 1750s. Each catalogue begins with object number one. Text from Sloane Miscellanea catalogue: Miscellanea Miscellanies 1174 “1174. A Chinese man sitting in an elbow chair switcing up his long beard commonly thought to be done in rice past, or a sort of alabaster.” This sculpture may be identified as Guandi who is the deified form of the historical hero General Guan Yu who lived in the late second to early third centuries AD. His exploits were dramatised in oral tales, dramas and the renowned Ming novel San Guo Zhi Yan Yi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms). Guan Yu was a loyal supporter of the Han pretender Liu Bei in his bid to continue the Han state in Shu (present day Sichuan province). Indeed together with Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, Guan Yu’s three-way oath of everlasting loyalty, sworn in the Peach Orchard, provides a perfect model for faithfulness, reliance and honesty. As a popular god, Guandi was venerated as a symbol of loyalty and trust having sacrificed his life for his principles. Guandi is also the patron god of merchants, emblematic of good faith in business. As well as shrines dedicated to Guandi, he was also associated with the type of literati shrine known as a wenwu miao (temple of literature and martial values).Soapstone or talc is among the softest of all stones, making it ideal for small scale sculptures. As its name suggests it is slippery to the touch and naturally occurs with brown and cream hues. In common with jade carvers, much of the skill of the soapstone carver was in identifying the stone suitable for the subject and the subject suitable for the stone. In the hierarchy of Chinese material culture soapstone falls behind jade, bamboo and even ivory and consequently there is little contemporary literature describing its working.Soapstone carvings were prominent in early European collections of Chinese art. Western merchants who came to do business in the south-eastern costal regions of China, such as Fujian and Guangdong, from the 16th century readily acquired them there.Guandi was not made specifically for export but was carved as part of a domestic trade in figural ornaments that was available for purchase by Chinese and foreigner alike.
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![[Qing Dynasty] British female painter—Elizabeth Keith, using woodblock prints to record China from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China—1915-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-191x300.png)
