"Longevity" spirit money from Taiwan / Artist Unknown Taiwan

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Record Details

Accession Number
2008/1.171
Title
"Longevity" spirit money from Taiwan
Artist Nationality
Taiwanese
Object Creation Date
20th century
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
Taiwan (nation)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
Taiwan (nation)
Dimensions
16 cm x 14 cm (6 5/16 in. x 5 1/2 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Print
Primary Object Type
color print
Physical Description
Print with floral design framing an inner square that contains six characters in the top and lower right, center, and left corners and a large character in the middle (“longevity”) with an image of two coins suspended from the wings of a stylized bat in the lower center. Swath of oranga paint and imitation gold foil in the middle.
Subject Matter
“Longevity” money was used exclusively in the worship of deities to celebrate their birthdays, or as a means of thanking them for blessings already bestowed, or to ask for long life or other benefits. In addition to the large character for “longevity” in the center, the four characters at the top right, center, left, and at the lower margin express wishes for sons, emolument, wealth, and honor. A “double happiness” character is in each lower corner. Two coins are suspended from the wings of a stylized bat, a symbol of happiness because the pronunciation of the character for “bat’ (fu) is identical to that for happiness. To produce the “spirit money,” the carved images would be printed in red over a patch of gold foil placed on top of a wide orange-colored swatch painted on coarse paper.
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
2452 x 3127
File Size
610 KB
Record
2008/1.171
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-1.171/2008_1.171.jpg

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Full citation
""Longevity" spirit money from Taiwan; Artist Unknown Taiwan." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2008-sl-1.171/2008_1.171.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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