Jun 6, 2022
Sep 18, 2012
Sep 18, 2012
Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022
Jun 6, 2022

Miniature Mountain with Daoist Paradise

Miniature Mountain with Daoist Paradise

1736–95

Green jade with brown markings

Overall: 17.5 cm (6 7/8 in.)

Anonymous Memorial Gift 1941.594

Did you know?

The bearded immortal is accompanied by a servant carrying a cluster of peaches, symbols of immortality.

Description

Sizable jade boulders of mountainous landscapes were carved to represent the search for the paradise or immortals' dwellings in the mountains. This Daoist theme has fired the Chinese imagination throughout history. Believed to have spiritual and magical properties, jade has long been used in tombs and intended for preserving the corporeal body and the soul in the quest for eternity. It is recorded that Daoist practitioners drank morning dews with scraps of jade as an elixir of immortality.

See also
Department: 
Chinese Art
Type of artwork: 
Jade

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