Chinese boxwood carved figure with silver inlay of Li Tieguai circa 1900

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Auction Start: 27/01/26 19:20:00 UTC
Auction Ending: 11/02/26 20:40:00 UTC
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LOT NUMBER 21
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LOT NUMBER 21

Chinese boxwood carved figure with silver inlay of Li Tieguai circa 1900

A wood carving of Li Tieguai dressed in an elaborate robe, carrying a crutch in his right hand and holding his belt in his left, represented standing on a crab. Li Tieguai was one of the eight Daoist immortals and is often depicted as a beggar carrying a crutch. He was associated with medicine and while known for his irascible temper was benevolent to the poor and needy. By legend, a handsome scholar whose spirit left his body to meet with other immortals, it is said that on one occasion his apprentice cremated his body before his return to it, forcing him to inhabit instead the body of a lame beggar. He is associated with the crab, a deer, or a bat, the crab motif, seen here, perhaps being related to the story of the Eight Immortals crossing the sea and using their powers to traverse the waves. Li Tieguai was often the subject of the wood carvers’ art and this figure is a good example of the representations of him produced in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. The carving is expressive and unusually inlaid with silver wire detail indicating considerable care in the manufacture. Most likely this figure was intended for the export market and would have been destined to stand on the mantle piece of a Victorian interior.
Size: Ht (max) 26.5cm, Width (max) 11cm, Depth (max) 9cm
Weight: 805gm
Date: 1900
Condition: Fair condition with no losses to the silver wire inlay; a chip to the base, a tiny chip to the finger of the left hand, various areas of slight splitting to the wood (see images).
Estimate: £30 – 40

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