A BRONZE FIGURE OF LIU HAI
VARIOUS PROPERTIES
A BRONZE FIGURE OF LIU HAI

17TH-18TH CENTURY

Details
A BRONZE FIGURE OF LIU HAI
17TH-18TH CENTURY
The smiling immortal has hair parted in the middle and is shown standing with legs braced and hands positioned to hold a string of cash as he tries to lure his three-legged toad. A large double-gourd is strapped to his back by a cord tied around his torso, and a stem of lingzhi is hung from his cord belt.
19 5/8 in. (49.7 cm.) high, stand

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Olivia Hamilton
Olivia Hamilton

Lot Essay

Liu Hai and his three-legged toad appear to have been popular subject matter for bronze incense burners in the late Ming and early Qing. For one bronze example of the toad alone, and a gilt bronze example of the laughing immortal riding the toad, both in the Musée Cernuschi, see M. Maucuer, Bronzes de la Chine impériale des Song aux Qing, Paris, 2013, p. 158, nos. 111 and 112, respectively.

A related bronze figure of Liu Hai, standing on one leg on top of a three-legged toad, is in the collection of the British Museum, museum reference no. 1992,0612.1.

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