A LARGE CHINESE SOAPSTONE FIGURE OF HAN XIANGZI

A LARGE CHINESE SOAPSTONE FIGURE OF HAN XIANGZI
17TH CENTURY

The Daoist Immortal carved standing raising a dizi flute to his lips, with a serene expression on his face and his hair coiled into two topknots, wearing a robe decorated with quatrefoil panels of scrolling lotus against a wave ground, the hem with a conforming border of foliate scrolls and a sash tied at the waist, all with traces of polychromy and gilding, raised on a base carved as Taihu rockwork, 31.8cm, 44.7cm overall.

Provenance: from an English private collection, Sussex.

In the Daoist pantheon, Han Xiangzi features as one of the Eight Immortals, semi-historical figures considered to have attained eternal life through their virtues and the subjects of numerous legends in Chinese mythology. Though it is not known whether Han Xiangzi existed historically, he is believed to have been the nephew of the celebrated Tang dynasty statesman and poet Han Yu. Having refused a career at court, according to legend Han Xiangzi was tutored in Daoism by Lu Dongbin, another of the Eight Immortals. Typically, he is represented with a basket of peaches or flowers and the dizi flute. For a similar early Qing soapstone figure of Han Ziangzi, see the example from the Q Collection sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 25th May 2011, Lot 227.

十七世紀 壽山石雕韓湘子像
來源：英國薩塞克斯郡私人收藏。