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I've just found this ivory figure on a antique store. Does anybody know what figure is this? judging by the crown and the mytical bird (phoenix? peacock?) on her hand , i thought it could be a figure of an empress, but maybe the lótus flower could indicate a "holy" status.
Divinity, empress or just a regular court lady figure?
Any information will be of great assistance!

Your figure probably is "Xiwangmu", the "Queen Mother of the West", wife of the Jade Emperor and in whose garden grow the "peaches of immortality". She has figured into Chinese ritual practices and legend for thousands of years; remains a principal figure in Daoism and Chinese myth in general; and also is a well known celestial entity in Japan and Korea.

Herewith is a photo of her from an embroidered banner used in a past forum discussion. For other information, you can Google the terms within quotation marks above.

It may be that this otherwise attractive figure is cast in resin or another material besides ivory, as the broken pieces appear to have fractured off a more fragile substance than carved natural tusk. Here's the link to another forum thread with an assortment of data on the identification of real versus artificial ivory.

http://www.asianart.com/phpforum/index.php?method=detailAll&Id=107169

Best regards,

Bill H.



URL Title :Xiwangmu

I see. Thank you so much for the help!

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