Page 208 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

926
A FINE BAMBOO CARVING OF A SEATED SAGE
17TH-18TH CENTURY
The elderly sage with sensitively carved face is shown resting his right hand The depiction of the sage with a basket of herbs or fowers indicates that
on the wicker basket flled with medicinal plants that rests on the layered the subject of this carving could be the immortal Lan Caihe or Han Xiang.
outcropping of rock on which he sits, while in his left hand he holds the long Han Xiang, a follower of Lu Dongbin, is frequently depicted carrying a basket
ends of the sash that secures his robe and is tied in back with a double-gourd of fowers, while Lan Caihe was granted immortality for using his basket of
fask. The gnarled staf of his hoe leans against his right side. medicinal herbs to treat Li Tieguai when he was disguised as a beggar.
6º in. (15.6 cm.) high, cloth box
Compare a very similar caving depicting the same sage with a basket in the
Palace Museum, Beijing illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures
$8,000-12,000
of the Palace Museum - 44 - Bamboo, Wood and Ivory Carvings, Hong Kong,
2002, p. 44, no. 42.
清十七/十八世紀 竹雕仙翁坐像