The Immortal Li Tieguai

Description

This bronze statue of Li Tieguai shows him dressed as a beggar in a tattered robe, holding a crutch in his right and a ball of medicine in his left hand. Li Tieguai is the patron saint for physicians and legend says that he dispenses pills from the gourd for the sick. He wears a belt of leaves and another gourd hangs from his waist. His head is crowned with what appears to be a metal ring, signifying his immortal status. Four incised characters in seal script on the back of the figure reads “made by Su Wennan (蘇文南製).”

Provenance

(Bluett & Sons, London, UK, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1973); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1973–)

The Immortal Li Tieguai

Su Wennan

1500s

Accession Number

1973.158

Medium

bronze

Dimensions

Overall: 41.8 cm (16 7/16 in.)

Classification

Sculpture

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Cornelia Blakemore Warner Fund