These red woven silk chair covers would have draped over yoke-back armchairs, making them both more comfortable and symbolically significant. Each cover is organized into four registers, decorated with different symbols on a background of clouds, bats, and fretwork. At top two cranes fly beside the sacred mountain
emerging from the waters. This image appears reversed because it would have been draped over the back of the chair. The next register features a four-clawed mang
dragon holding a flaming pearl—a symbol of the world, knowledge, and power—in its coil and floating over mountains and waves. This central image is situated at
the height of a sitter’s chest. The seat is decorated with a lotus medallion, an appropriate symbol in this position as the lotus form was often used as a seat for Buddhas or deities. The final panel, which would have hung at leg height, shows the sacred tower over the waters flanked by two dragon-horses.
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| - These red woven silk chair covers would have draped over yoke-back armchairs, making them both more comfortable and symbolically significant. Each cover is organized into four registers, decorated with different symbols on a background of clouds, bats, and fretwork. At top two cranes fly beside the sacred mountain
emerging from the waters. This image appears reversed because it would have been draped over the back of the chair. The next register features a four-clawed mang
dragon holding a flaming pearl—a symbol of the world, knowledge, and power—in its coil and floating over mountains and waves. This central image is situated at
the height of a sitter’s chest. The seat is decorated with a lotus medallion, an appropriate symbol in this position as the lotus form was often used as a seat for Buddhas or deities. The final panel, which would have hung at leg height, shows the sacred tower over the waters flanked by two dragon-horses.
- From the Land of the Immortals
- January 13 - April 22, 2012
- This red satin cloth with vibrant gold-wrapped yarn embroidery is filled with auspicious imagery and would have been used as a frontal for an altar table. Though
the iconography suggests a Taoist context, this frontal may have been used for ancestral rituals as well.
Two roundels framed by peach branches contain two cranes each. The birds hold counting sticks in their beaks and fly toward a pavilion by the sea. This scene refers to the tale of Taoist sages who counted their age in terms of epochs, not years, and would add a counting stick to a pile to mark each epoch of man. The pavilion represents a Taoist paradise, while the peach branches and cranes represent longevity.
Above, six smaller roundels alternately depict the “three happinesses” (peach, pomegranate, and Buddha’s hand citron) or a bat with a ruyi scepter (which together symbolize the sentiment “May you have every joy and happiness as you wish”). Below are symbols of the mountain and the cosmic waters with floating dragon fish.
- This large, meticulously woven hanging textile scroll most likely represents a gathering of immortals to celebrate the birthdays of the Three Stars (sanxing),
Shou Xing, Fu Xing, and Lu Xing. A staple of Taoist iconography, also referred to with the Chinese characters Shou 壽 (longevity), Fu 福 (happiness), and Lu 錄 (reward), the Three Stars represent these objectives, which were important especially at the most popular level of Taoist belief.
This auspicious theme, often associated with birthdays, became popular during the late Ming period. Given its size and the quality of the fine silk tapestry weave, this piece probably hung in a palace hall or a wealthy temple. The elaborate scene is likely inspired by a popular drama, the Qunxian qingshou Pantao hui (Gathering Immortals Celebrate Longevity at the Flat Peaches Festival), by the Ming-period dramatist Zhou Youdun.
[Detail 1] The Queen Mother of the West flies on the back of a phoenix attended by two Jade Maidens. This beloved female Taoist immortal resided on Mount Kunlun, where she presided over the fabled garden where the peaches of immortality grew.
[Detail 2] The Three Stars (Shou Xing, Fu Xing, and Lu Xing) are shown at the top of the terrace greeting the Queen Mother of the west. Shou Xing, also known as Old Man Star, resembles the traditional image of the father of Taoism, Laozi. He is generally represented as an old man with a large bald head presenting a large peach, a symbol of long life, to the Queen Mother of the West. Fu Xing is dressed as a court official and carries a ruyi scepter (literally translated "as you wish" the ruyi is a symbol of power and fortune); Lu Xing holds a tray with a bronze ritual vessel.
[Detail 3] Below the Queen Mother of the West, a young woman carrying flower and peaches steers a strange boat, perhaps fashioned out of an ancient peach tree.
[Detail 4] Below the Three Stars are other immortal beings, including the Eight Immortals, Taoist holies famed for havin
- In this altarpiece five dragons float over mountains and waters, which together symbolize the celestial landscape. These five-clawed dragons, known as long, decorate
objects reserved for the imperial house, as opposed to the four-clawed mang dragons designed for lesser aristocrats. The central dragon, shown frontally, holds the flaming pearl (longzhu), a symbol of the power of the dragon, wisdom, knowledge, and the world. The five dragons are surrounded by bats and clouds, as well as by the Eight Taoist Attributes that symbolize the Eight Immortals of Taoism—sword, flute, fan, lotus/double gourd/crutch, castanets, flower basket, bamboo tube, and rods. At bottom, the Eight Precious Things of Buddhism—conch shell, wheel of the law, vase, parasol, two golden fish, lotus, banner of victory, and eternal knot—float amid the waves surrounding the sacred mountain.
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| P3 has note
| - These red woven silk chair covers would have draped over yoke-back armchairs, making them both more comfortable and symbolically significant. Each cover is organized into four registers, decorated with different symbols on a background of clouds, bats, and fretwork. At top two cranes fly beside the sacred mountain
emerging from the waters. This image appears reversed because it would have been draped over the back of the chair. The next register features a four-clawed mang
dragon holding a flaming pearl—a symbol of the world, knowledge, and power—in its coil and floating over mountains and waves. This central image is situated at
the height of a sitter’s chest. The seat is decorated with a lotus medallion, an appropriate symbol in this position as the lotus form was often used as a seat for Buddhas or deities. The final panel, which would have hung at leg height, shows the sacred tower over the waters flanked by two dragon-horses.
- From the Land of the Immortals
- January 13 - April 22, 2012
- This red satin cloth with vibrant gold-wrapped yarn embroidery is filled with auspicious imagery and would have been used as a frontal for an altar table. Though
the iconography suggests a Taoist context, this frontal may have been used for ancestral rituals as well.
Two roundels framed by peach branches contain two cranes each. The birds hold counting sticks in their beaks and fly toward a pavilion by the sea. This scene refers to the tale of Taoist sages who counted their age in terms of epochs, not years, and would add a counting stick to a pile to mark each epoch of man. The pavilion represents a Taoist paradise, while the peach branches and cranes represent longevity.
Above, six smaller roundels alternately depict the “three happinesses” (peach, pomegranate, and Buddha’s hand citron) or a bat with a ruyi scepter (which together symbolize the sentiment “May you have every joy and happiness as you wish”). Below are symbols of the mountain and the cosmic waters with floating dragon fish.
- This large, meticulously woven hanging textile scroll most likely represents a gathering of immortals to celebrate the birthdays of the Three Stars (sanxing),
Shou Xing, Fu Xing, and Lu Xing. A staple of Taoist iconography, also referred to with the Chinese characters Shou 壽 (longevity), Fu 福 (happiness), and Lu 錄 (reward), the Three Stars represent these objectives, which were important especially at the most popular level of Taoist belief.
This auspicious theme, often associated with birthdays, became popular during the late Ming period. Given its size and the quality of the fine silk tapestry weave, this piece probably hung in a palace hall or a wealthy temple. The elaborate scene is likely inspired by a popular drama, the Qunxian qingshou Pantao hui (Gathering Immortals Celebrate Longevity at the Flat Peaches Festival), by the Ming-period dramatist Zhou Youdun.
[Detail 1] The Queen Mother of the West flies on the back of a phoenix attended by two Jade Maidens. This beloved female Taoist immortal resided on Mount Kunlun, where she presided over the fabled garden where the peaches of immortality grew.
[Detail 2] The Three Stars (Shou Xing, Fu Xing, and Lu Xing) are shown at the top of the terrace greeting the Queen Mother of the west. Shou Xing, also known as Old Man Star, resembles the traditional image of the father of Taoism, Laozi. He is generally represented as an old man with a large bald head presenting a large peach, a symbol of long life, to the Queen Mother of the West. Fu Xing is dressed as a court official and carries a ruyi scepter (literally translated "as you wish" the ruyi is a symbol of power and fortune); Lu Xing holds a tray with a bronze ritual vessel.
[Detail 3] Below the Queen Mother of the West, a young woman carrying flower and peaches steers a strange boat, perhaps fashioned out of an ancient peach tree.
[Detail 4] Below the Three Stars are other immortal beings, including the Eight Immortals, Taoist holies famed for havin
- In this altarpiece five dragons float over mountains and waters, which together symbolize the celestial landscape. These five-clawed dragons, known as long, decorate
objects reserved for the imperial house, as opposed to the four-clawed mang dragons designed for lesser aristocrats. The central dragon, shown frontally, holds the flaming pearl (longzhu), a symbol of the power of the dragon, wisdom, knowledge, and the world. The five dragons are surrounded by bats and clouds, as well as by the Eight Taoist Attributes that symbolize the Eight Immortals of Taoism—sword, flute, fan, lotus/double gourd/crutch, castanets, flower basket, bamboo tube, and rods. At bottom, the Eight Precious Things of Buddhism—conch shell, wheel of the law, vase, parasol, two golden fish, lotus, banner of victory, and eternal knot—float amid the waves surrounding the sacred mountain.
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| P2 has type
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