1-233-863 - The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images

Soapstone figure of Dongfang Shuo, China, c1630-c1680. Pink soapstone seated smiling figure, late Ming-early Qing dynasty, of Dongfang Shuo with one hand holding a peach, a symbol of longevity in China. According to Chinese legend, Dongfang Shuo stole and ate some magical peaches which endowed him with magical powers and caused him to live to be 800 years old. The face, beard and borders of the robes are intricately incised. The signature of Yang Yuxuan is subtly incised on the rock seat. Yang Yuxuan was a native of Zhangp'u, Fujian Province, but resided in the provincial capital, Fuzhou. The District Gazetteer of the Zhangpu area compiled in the Kangxi period described him as 'a capable carver of Shoushan stone (soapstone), all his figures, birds and animals and his vessels are exquisite in the extreme'. Recent research has discovered that Yang began work at some time in the late Ming dynasty and worked into the Kangxi period.