Journey of the Soul to the Paradise of the Queen Mother of the West / Artist Unknown, China
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2000/2.1
- Title
- Journey of the Soul to the Paradise of the Queen Mother of the West
- Artist
- Artist Unknown, China
- 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.
- Primary Keywords
- chariot (ancient vehicle)
- dragons
- fish
- fox
- funerary object
- moon
- rabbits
- relief
- ricing sticks
- sculpture
- shrines
- stone
- tomb
- water
- 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
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- 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
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:2000-SL-2.1:2000_2.1.JPG
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- Full citation
-
"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 May 04, 2024.