Scroll
unknown
Basic information
- ID
- Рз-136/5
- Author
- unknown
- Name
- Scroll
- Date of creation
- 19th c.
- Technique
- embroidery watercolor
- Material
- silk paper Indian ink watercolor on silk
- Dimensions (height x width, cm)
- 225 x 43.5
Additionally
- Type
- scroll
- Genre
- religious painting
- Provenance
- Purchased from a private individual
- Exposition
- Zolochiv Castle (Chinese Palace)
Information about author
Object description
The scroll shows seven Daoist divinities at different locations. Two Chinese immortals are depicted in the middle of the sea, not far from a luxurious palace. Wenchang, God of Literature, is depicted as a scholar with a scroll in his hand, floating on a tree trunk accompanied by his friend Kui Xing - God of Examinations and Scholars - who is nearby on a large fish. Among the three male figures on the cloud is Lü Dongbin - protector from evil spirits, patron of medicine, and guardian of lovers. He ensures the success and prosperity of the offspring, hence the most famous of the eight immortals. His attributes are a sword that kills, destroys evil spirits, and a broom made of horsehair that gives him the power to walk on clouds and be invisible to evil spirits. The two men on the left hold sticks in their hands that look like scented or smoking sticks. Above, on the clouds are three other charming girls. The first on the left is Magu, goddess of longevity and protector of women, holding a lingzhi mushroom, which symbolises the wish for immortality. In the middle is Lan Caihe, the patron saint of gardening and a hermaphrodite god. The scroll shows him in a female form with a basket of flowers and a vase with a lid, bringing good fortune to young girls. Blue is an attribute of Lan Caihe, so his costume is decorated with a large blue collar. The third girl holding a broomstick, a spiritual tool for cleansing evil influences, is the patroness of women He Xiangu. The scroll is part of a set of 11 vertical scrolls that compose a single work depicting scenes from Chinese mythology, namely the journey of the Daoist Immortals to Xi Wang Mu.
