The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 24, 2025

Plate with Isle of the Immortals

1723–35
(1644-1911), Yongzheng mark and reign (1723-35)
porcelain decorated in underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze enamels
Diameter: 21.2 cm (8 3/8 in.)
The Fanny Tewksbury King Collection 1956.709
Location: not on view

Description

This multicolored dish is decorated with the sacred isle, also seen on the exterior of the blue-and-white dish nearby. A pavilion emerges amid rising and falling waves, a symbol of constant transformation and change. Above the waves are mysterious clouds, symbolizing the cosmic vital energy (qi) that animates all things and beings on earth in Daoism. The interior of the dish also shows cranes carrying sticks in their beaks, a motif that symbolizes longevity. Cranes carrying sticks above a pavilion in the sea express the wish “May you live to a ripe old age (haiwu tianchou; 海屋添籌).”
  • ?–1956
    Fanny Tewksbury King [1867–1949], Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1956–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Little, Stephen. Realm of the Immortals: Daoism in the Arts of China: the Cleveland Museum of Art, February 10-April 10, 1988. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1988. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 22, color plate 18
  • Escaping to a Better World: Eccentrics and Immortals in Chinese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 13-November 6, 2022).
    Realm of the Immortals: Daoism in the Arts of China. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-April 10, 1988).
  • {{cite web|title=Plate with Isle of the Immortals|url=false|author=|year=1723–35|access-date=24 June 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1956.709