Carved Variegated Stone Openwork Group of Auspicious Beasts and Cash Coins
Name/Title
Carved Variegated Stone Openwork Group of Auspicious Beasts and Cash CoinsEntry/Object ID
SC2304Description
Chinese carved variegated ornamental stone openwork group depicting numerous stylized auspicious and mythical beasts intertwined among oversized Chinese cash-coin motifs. The densely composed sculpture is extensively pierced and undercut, with animals arranged at multiple levels and orientations and both principal faces substantially carved. Several creatures exhibit broad, leonine heads, open mouths and mane-like carving, while others have elongated, dragon-derived features characteristic of composite Chinese mythical beasts; individual creatures may include qilin or related auspicious beasts, but their specific identities remain uncertain. A prominent cash-coin motif bears the four-character inscription 招財進寶 (zhāo cái jìn bǎo), “attract wealth and bring in treasure,” establishing prosperity and the accumulation of wealth as the principal auspicious theme. Displayed on a fitted or associated four-footed wooden stand decorated with a geometric key-fret border.Type of Sculpture
Free StandingArtwork Details
Medium
Unidentified stoneSubject
Multiple stylized Chinese auspicious and mythical beasts intertwined with oversized cash-coin motifsCategory
Chinese carved stone
Made/Created
Artist
Maker presently unidentifiedTime Period
20th CenturyEthnography
Cultural Region
Continent
AsiaCulture/Tribe
Chinese