The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 23, 2025

Dish with Zhang Guolao

1662–1722

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Qing dynasty

(1644-1911), Kangxi reign (1662-1722)
porcelain with famille verte overglaze enamel and painted gold decoration (interior) and powder blue glaze with painted decoration (exterior)
Diameter: 4.6 x 19.8 cm (1 13/16 x 7 13/16 in.)
Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1989.306
Location: Not on view

Description

Zhang Guolao, featured on this dish, is one of the Eight Immortals and a gifted magician who was believed to know the secret arts to obtain longevity. Typically depicted as an old man and accompanied by his mule, he is the patron saint of artists. His mule is said to be magical; it can be folded up like a piece of paper to fit into a small bag. The central scene is framed by a sumptuously gold-decorated rim showing spaces reserved for landscape scenes in primarily fresh blue and green colors.
  • ?–1974
    (Ada Lum, Hong Kong, sold to Severance and Greta Millikin)
    1974–1989
    Severance A. [1895–1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903–1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1989–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Catalogue of the Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1990. Mentioned: cat. no. 67, p. 73
  • 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=Dish with Zhang Guolao|url=false|author=|year=1662–1722|access-date=23 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.306