Smiling Gods of Ancient China

 

Lacy Scott & Knight’s upcoming Asian Art auction on April 9, 2025 features a remarkable collection of Chinese artworks depicting the legendary “Eight Daoist Immortals.”  We are delighted to welcome renowned Chinese art historian Rose Kerr, who has graciously contributed an article exploring the significance of the Daoist Immortals and offering her insights on this impressive collection.

 

Smiling Gods of Ancient China - the Collection of Eight Daoist Immortals

Rose Kerr, January 2025

Daoism was a core belief in China, arising from the mythical Laozi “Old Philosopher” of the 4th century BC. Philosophical Daoism is a cerebral belief system, associated with assorted naturalistic and mystical religion. However, ordinary people needed more concrete symbols to worship, and that is where the Eight Daoist Immortals came in.  The group comprises eight xian (Immortals) who serve as mythological archetypes of immortality, who could aid and encourage people. From the Ming dynasty onwards, the Eight Immortals became widely represented in both elite and vernacular material culture across bronze, jade, painting, textile, and porcelain. 

 Zhongli Quan, one of the Eight Daoist Immortals, is depicted holding a fan, set against a backdrop of other commissioned pieces.

 

The collection consigned into auction includes a set of Eight Immortals porcelain statuettes, ranging from 22-24cm in height. The leader Lü Dongbin, an actual historical figure, was a poet and scholar during the Tang dynasty (618-906).  His symbol is a magic sword that dispels evil spirits and provides him with invisibility, and he is seen as a patron deity for scholars and doctors. Zhang Guolao is another Immortal who was originally a real person, and lived as a Daoist hermit in the 7th-8th century. He is shown balancing a cylindrical percussion instrument on his right hand, and is the protector of children and the elderly. Zhongli Quan holds a fan and has his hair in two knots on the sides of his head. His fan can be used to resurrect the dead and to transform stones into precious metals. Li Tieguai "Iron Crutch Li" balances on a crutch and holds a gourd from which he dispenses medicine to heal the sick... Sets of figurines like these were likely placed on Chinese household shrines. Similar sets appear in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection (FE.27(A to G)-1978) and in various auctions in UK, indicating that they have become very popular in Europe, where their use was purely ornamental.

A set of Eight Immortals famille rose porcelain statuettes, 18th century Qianlong Period (1736-1795)

 

Another delicately painted early 19th-century vase in the collection features the Eight Immortals disporting themselves in a garden, with banana palms and rocks. This type of auspicious decoration was popular among clients seeking luxury goods, while the fine brushwork depicting the Eight Immortals in a landscape is extremely rare among contemporary pieces and, when present, is often found on imperial-commissioned pieces bearing reign marks. The Beijing Palace Museum Collection includes a pair of square-shaped vases (新00108030 and 00108031) with “Shende Tang Zhi” marks, and a similar but unmarked pair is held in the Taipei Palace Museum Collection (故瓷007620N and 007621N). Other comparable examples include a Daoguang seal mark bottle vase sold by Sotheby’s (09 November 2011, Lot 465) and a Jiaqing seal mark jar sold by Christie’s (03 June 2015, Lot 3257). Noteworthy is the vase’s classical “hu-form” derived shape, known as “Pi Pa Zun” in Chinese, for which there is no corresponding English name. This shape is highly sought after among Chinese scholars and distinguishes the vase from other commissioned pieces.

Front and reverse side of the Eight Immortals “Pi Pa Zun” (Hu-shaped vase) in the collection, Qing Dynasty Daoguang Period (1821-1850)

 

The enduring appeal of the Eight Daoist Immortals lies in their ability to bridge the divine and the human, representing symbols of hope, resilience, and wisdom. Taken together, this collection showcases the widespread popularity of the Eight Immortals in dynastic China and reflects the refined taste of its collector, offering a glimpse into the richness of China's material and visual culture.

Detail on the Hu-shaped vase depicting four deities in a garden

 

 

Rose Kerr (born February 1953) is an English art historian specialising in Chinese art, especially Chinese ceramics, on which she has written a number of books. After studying Mandarin and Chinese art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (1971–75), she worked at the Percival David Foundation (1976–78). She joined the Far Eastern Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1978. She became the Keeper of the Far Eastern Department in 1987, a post she held until her retirement in 2003. 

In 2015, she was made an honorary citizen of Jingdezhen, China, the historic centre of Chinese porcelain production, in recognition of her academic research on Jingdezhen ceramics, and her promotion of cultural exchange between the United Kingdom and China. She was the first non-Chinese citizen to be so honoured.

 

The collection forms a core section within our 9th April Asian Art auction, with further entries invited until mid-March.  If you have anything suitable that you would like to consign or discuss further, please contact our Asian Art consultant Jun Kong, or come along to one of our forthcoming Asian Art valuation days. 

A selection of pieces already consigned for this auction can be viewed here.

 

 

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