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Chinese

Fragment from a Mural, 1500s - 1600s

Now On View

Description

Maker

Culture

Chinese

Title

Fragment from a Mural

Year

1500s - 1600s

Medium

Clay, straw, fiber, and pigment

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

167 x 106.4 cm (65 3/4 x 41 7/8 inches)

Place

China

Type

Credit

Gift of Mr. Cornelius Ruxton Love

Object Number

51.559

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Asian Art Galleries

This female figure carrying a basket of flowers and riding a deer is Magu, the Daoist immortal. Believed to have lived during the Han Dynasty (200 BCE–200 CE), she is recognized by her long fingernails, which resemble bird claws. This fragment presumably was part of a Daoist temple mural depicting various immortals. The emphasis on the undulating brushwork echoes the importance of the calligraphic line in Chinese painting.

Unlike Buddhism, Daoism is indigenous to China. According to Daoism, yin (female) and yang (male) serve as complementary cosmological forces; their dynamic interaction is vital to all aspects of life and the universe. Goddesses such as Magu represented the yin force and were the protectors of life.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Fragment from a Mural with the accession number of 51.559. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.