Journey of the Soul to the Paradise of the Queen Mother of the West / Artist Unknown, China

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Record Details

Accession Number
2000/2.1
Title
Journey of the Soul to the Paradise of the Queen Mother of the West
Artist Nationality
Chinese
Medium and Support
carved limestone slab
Object Creation Date
2nd century
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
China (nation)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
China (nation)
Style/Group/Movement
Daoist
Dimensions
83.82 cm x 86.36 cm x 19.05 cm (33 in. x 34 in. x 7 1/2 in.)
Century
2nd century
Primary Object Classification
Sculpture
Primary Object Type
narrative relief
Secondary Object Classification
Hardstone
Physical Description
Limestone slab carved bas-relief with six registers. The lower register depicts a chariot procession above fish-inhabited waters. The central three registers depict figures carrying out funerary rites. The top register shows a winged creature with a human face flanked by two writhing dragons and other animals, including two rabbits and a nine-tailed fox.
Subject Matter
This magnificent carved limestone slab was originally part of a memorial hall or tomb. It portrays the vertical ascent of the soul of the deceased from earth toward the “Happy Homeland” or heavenly abode of the Queen Mother of the West.
On the lower register of the carving, the soul of the tomb occupant rides in a chariot procession. The fish-inhabited waters indicate his earthly surroundings. In the central three registers the family and friends of the deceased are shown carrying out the proper funerary rites that will insure the success of his journey. The Queen Mother herself, shown as a winged creature with a human face, dominates the top row. She is flanked by two writhing dragons and other heavenly immortals, including two rabbits, who reside on the moon and are shown pounding rice cakes, and an auspicious nine-tailed fox, associated with the sun.
The Queen Mother of the West was the subject of a very popular cult during the Eastern Han Dynasty, when concerns about immortality reached a new and feverish pitch.
Secondary Keywords
agricultural equipment
animals and creatures
associated concepts
buildings and the land
ceremonial objects
death
descriptors
earth sciences concepts
equipment
equipment by process
freewheeled vehicles
freewheeled vehicles by form or function
funerary structures
great lake and central woodland native american styles
how we live
inorganic material
land vehicles
land vehicles by form
legendary creatures
mammals
materials
materials by composition
native american
native north american styles
object genres
object genres by function
object-making processes and techniques
objects we use
people and culture
physical sciences concepts
processes and techniques
processes and techniques by specific type
religious structures
rites of passage
scientific concepts
sculpture techniques
single built works
single built works by function
single built works by specific type
styles and periods
styles and periods by region
the americas
tools and equipment
transportation vehicles
vehicles
visual works
visual works by medium or technique
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Technical Details

Image Size
1084 x 1004
File Size
168 KB
Record
2000/2.1
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2000-sl-2.1/2000_2.1.jpg

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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:2000-SL-2.1:2000_2.1.JPG

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"Journey of the Soul to the Paradise of the Queen Mother of the West; Artist Unknown, China." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2000-sl-2.1/2000_2.1.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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