Item No.: 1731
Name: A blue-and-white and underglaze-red sculpture of Zhang Guolao and Zhongli Quan
Period: Yuan dynasty
Height: 30.5 cm
The scene depicted in this work appears to echo the preceding sculpture of He Xiangu and Lü Dongbin, drawing likewise on the celebrated legend of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea. With subtle ingenuity, the artist reveals the figures’ immortal identities through an extraordinary detail: the vessel beneath them, carrying them across the sea, is merely a section of bamboo. Yet their expressions and gestures are those of two elderly men enjoying a lively conversation in a bustling neighborhood, full of the warmth and vitality of everyday life.
Zhang Guolao holds a fish drum in his right hand. His left arm bends upward, his fingers slightly curled, as though counting off details while recounting an amusing incident or curious tale with evident relish. Zhongli Quan holds a palm-leaf fan in his right hand and rests his left hand on his knee. Listening with keen interest, he breaks into a hearty, knowing smile. One speaks while the other listens; their gestures, expressions, and the orientation of their bodies respond to one another. The storyteller’s absorption and the listener’s delight are rendered so vividly that viewers can almost share in the humor and pleasure of their conversation.
Such lively and individual characterization is particularly precious in Chinese porcelain sculpture on religious themes. Compared with many increasingly formulaic representations of immortals from the Ming and Qing dynasties onward, this work retains the temperament, humor, and emotions of ordinary people. When immortal figures are confined to fixed patterns of impassive expression and conventionalized religious imagery, their distinct personalities and vitality tend to fade. These two elderly men, however, remain warm and approachable, as though we might step into their conversation at any moment and share their knowing amusement.
The work brings together the wonder of a miraculous sea crossing and the pleasures of companionship between kindred spirits. It gives a tangible, intimate expression to the longing for an immortal’s life: a heart free from care, a trusted friend close at hand, and the freedom to speak at ease and laugh without restraint.