Baluster shaped with budhist lion handles. Decorated with Daoist deities, one side with Sanxing, the three star gods Fu, Lu, and Shou under a star constellation; the other side with Laozi riding an ox surrounded by two Daoist deities. Height 60 cm.
Crack. Restoration by the foot.
The collection of Hasse Persson (Gränna, Sweden), purchased in the 1960s. Thence by descent.
The Sanxing 三星 ('Three Stars') are the gods of the three celestial bodies considered essential in Chinese astrology and mythology: Jupiter, Ursa Major, and Canopus. Fu, Lu, and Shou 福祿壽 / 福禄寿, or Cai, Zi and Shou 財子壽 are also the embodiments of Fortune (Fu), presiding over the planet Jupiter, Prosperity (Lu), presiding over Mizar (ζ Ursae Majoris), and Longevity (Shou), presiding over Canopus.