superbly carved as Shoulao seated astride a deer and holding one antler with the right hand and a peach with the left, all supported on jagged rockwork with small floral blooms issuing at the front and a bat on the reverse, the group rendered with two boys, one depicted holding lingzhi sprigs with both hands and looking up at the immortal, the other standing behind the rear of the deer and holding with both hands a long staff suspending a double gourd, the immortal further rendered clad in loose robes and portrayed with his characteristic protruding forehead and an endearingly warm smile, the patina of a rich dark reddish-brown colour
Bamboo figures of this impressive large size are rare and the present example is particularly notable for its meticulous carving. The bold cuts used to depict the figure’s clothing and rockwork, as well as the highly expressive rendering of the immortal’s facial features, are characteristic of Kangxi period bamboo carvings. In the Qing dynasty the number of bamboo masters reached a peak in Jiading as well as in other centres in southern China, including Suzhou and Hangzhou in Jiangsu and Gui'an and Haining in Zhejiang province. While the majority of their products consisted of utilitarian vessels for the scholar’s desk, a small number of bamboo figures, such as this piece, was made for display.
Bamboo carvers of the Qing dynasty often took inspiration from religious and popular stories and woodblock-print books. This charming piece depicts the God of Longevity, Shoulao, as an old man with a long beard and a tall domed forehead, a portrayal that first developed in the Ming period and quickly became closely associated with the deity. One of the Three Star Gods (Sanxing), Shoulao represe🅰nts the south pole in Chinese astron🔯omy and is associated with longevity; hence he is often portrayed holding a peach of immortality and riding a deer.
A smaller figure of Shoulao riding a deer, from the collection of Dr Ip Yee, was included in the exhibition Chinese Bamboo Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, pt. I, 1978, pl. 24; another was sold in our London rooms, 1st/2nd November 1984, lot 304; and a third, attributed to the 18th century, was sold at Christie’s N𒐪ew York, 19th September 2007, lot 20.
