The Immortal Li Tieguai

李鐵拐

1500s

Su Wennan 蘇文南

(Chinese)

Culture

China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Medium

bronze

Measurements

Overall: 41.8 cm (16 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Cornelia Blakemore Warner Fund 1973.158

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Location

Not on view

Description

This bronze statue of Li Tieguai shows him dressed as a beggar in a tattered robe, holding a crutch in his right and a ball of medicine in his left hand. Li Tieguai is the patron saint for physicians and legend says that he dispenses pills from the gourd for the sick. He wears a belt of leaves and another gourd hangs from his waist. His head is crowned with what appears to be a metal ring, signifying his immortal status. Four incised characters in seal script on the back of the figure reads “made by Su Wennan (蘇文南製).”