Scepter in the Shape of a Ruyi Fungus
Scepter in the Shape of a Ruyi Fungus
1700s
China, Qing dynasty
(1644-1911)
Carved boxwood
Overall: 38.1 cm (15 in.)
Cornelia Blakemore Warner Fund 1970.155
Location
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Description
The ruyi scepter was among the decorative items collected by the Chinese literati. It was thought that lofty and refined men of ancient times—the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove of the late AD 200s—carried ruyi scepters during the so-called pure conversations of the Daoists. The name ruyi (literally, as one wishes) conveys blessings of wish fulfillment. The fungus-shaped head is an emblem of immortality.
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