The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 12, 2026

A porcelain figure with enamel decoration depicts Zhongli Quan standing on a rectangular pedestal. He wears a pleated blue cap and has a long black beard. His robe features a checkered pattern of green, red, black, and yellow squares, with a central medallion showing a red mythical creature. He holds a leaf-shaped fan in his right hand. The pedestal displays a pink blossom set within a green and yellow lattice.

Daoist Immortal Zhongli Quan

1662–1722

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Qing dynasty

(1644-1911), Kangxi reign (1662-1722)
porcelain with famille verte overglaze enamel decoration
Overall: 29.9 cm (11 3/4 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Collection 1964.193
Location: Not on view

Description

This porcelain figure represents Zhongli Quan as a scholar. He is wearing a scholar’s hat and carries a scroll on his back. He holds a fan that, according to legend, could bring the dead to life. Thus, he also bears the auspicious meaning of longevity. On his bare belly, the potter painted a qilin, a mythical auspicious creature that turns his head to the sun. The same design in different colors also decorates his back.
  • John L. Severance [1863–1936], Cleveland, OH, by descent to Severance Millikin
    ?–1964
    Severance A. [1895–1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903–1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1964–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of the Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1990. Mentioned: p. 74, cat. no. 77
    Tannenbaum, Barbara. Ann Hamilton: Still and Moving: The Tactile Image. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2025. Reproduced: p. 314
  • Escaping to a Better World: Eccentrics and Immortals in Chinese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 13-November 6, 2022).
    The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).
  • {{cite web|title=Daoist Immortal Zhongli Quan|url=false|author=|year=1662–1722|access-date=12 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.193