Lot 91

17th C. Chinese Lacquered Wood Taoist Official - Hu Tablet

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Lot 91
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17th C. Chinese Lacquered Wood Taoist Official - Hu Tablet
17th C. Chinese Lacquered Wood Taoist Official - Hu Tablet
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17th C. Chinese Lacquered Wood Taoist Official - Hu Tablet

Estimate: $6,000 - $9,000

Starting Bid: $3,000

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
August 6, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

East Asia, China, Qing Dynasty, ca. 1644–1800 CE. A carved and lacquered wood figure of a seated Taoist official, poised in an attitude of grave devotional composure. The deep oxblood robe falls in fluid, deeply channeled folds across the shoulders and knees, its high collar rising to a serene, gilded face with downcast eyes and softly parted lips. Crowning the head is an elaborate multi-tiered hat, its lotus-petal and geometric registers picked out in gilt and pigment against a red-lacquered crest. The figure clasps a narrow Hu tablet to the chest with long, tapering fingers, the audience implement that marks him as an official summoned before the celestial court. Once seated upon a backless plinth within a domestic shrine or sanctuary, such an image served as a guardian presence, invoked to ward off malevolent spirits, heal the afflicted, and mediate ritual communion with the immortals. Size: 15" W x 32.3" H x 13.5" D (38.1 cm W x 82.0 cm H x 34.3 cm D).

The Hu tablet clasped to the chest is the key to identifying this figure. A flat, narrow strip of wood, it originated as a functional court implement: from the Han Dynasty onward, secular officials held such tablets during formal audiences with the emperor, using them to record his commands and prompt their own speech. Taoism absorbed the tablet as a ritual instrument, wielded by priests to purify space, repel malign influences, and open communication with the spirit world. A high-ranking priest is conventionally shown gripping the tablet in both hands, as if standing in audience before a deity of the Heavenly Court.

Because Ming and Qing carvers rendered Taoist figures interchangeably as scholars, sages, officials, and priests, individual identity is notoriously difficult to recover once an image leaves its altar context. The encompassing term Daoshi (master of the Tao) is often applied, embracing priest, official, and adept alike.

Provenance: private Los Angeles, California, USA collection, acquired from 1990 - 2005

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Item # 203856

  • Condition: Feet have been reattached with break lines just barely visible. Loss to lacquer on top of headdress. Old, inactive insect hole to verso. Some chips, nicks, abrasions, and fissures to wood, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, nice presentation with good remains of pigments and trace remains of gilding. Age-expected patina to wood.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000