Gift box

18th-19th century

Ivory inspires intricate carving with its capacity to hold details. This box was likely to have once been an expensive gift. On the outside, a seated duck is portrayed in fine shallow relief. On the inside, eight human figures appear to float atop swirling waves.

Each figure has symbols to identify which of the Daoist Immortals they represent: for example, Li Tiegua leans on a staff, carries a gourd and a pennant decorated with three bats; another is Lu Dongbin, mounted on a demon with the body of a whale.

Ivory

3 7/8 x 5/8 in. (9.84 x 1.59 cm)

L.: 7 3/4 in.

Overall diam.: 1 1/8 in.

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

54.60

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, "Tabaimo: Utsutsushi Utsushi," November 11, 2016 - February 26, 2017

Published ReferencesJoice, Gail, Michael Knight, and Pamela McClusky. "Ivories in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1987, no. 5, p. 9, illus. cover

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