Block for Printing "Longevity" Spirit Money, from Taiwan / Artist Unknown Taiwan
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2006/2.41.1
- Title
- Block for Printing "Longevity" Spirit Money, from Taiwan
- Artist
- Artist Unknown Taiwan
- Artist Nationality
- Taiwanese
- Medium and Support
- carved wood
- Object Creation Date
- late 20th century
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- Taiwan (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Taiwan (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing
- Dimensions
- 11.4 cm x 10.7 cm x 1.2 cm (4 1/2 in. x 4 3/16 in. x 1/2 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Wood and Woodcarving
- Primary Object Type
- printing block
- Physical Description
- Wooden block painted cinnabar red with a carved 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.
- Subject Matter
- Block for printing “longevity” money, which 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.
- Secondary Keywords
- associated concepts
- ball game equipment
- ball striking or snaring and throwing equipment
- biological concepts
- equipment
- equipment by process
- exchange media
- image-making equipment
- objects we use
- people and culture
- printing and printmaking equipment
- printing blocks
- printing surfaces
- recreational artifacts
- recreational artifacts for competitive activities
- scientific concepts
- sports and athletic equipment
- tools and equipment
- 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
- 3000 x 2742
- File Size
- 1 MB
- Record
- 2006/2.41.1
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2006-sl-2.41.1/2006_2.41.1.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Block for Printing "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-2006-sl-2.41.1/2006_2.41.1.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.