He Xiangu is wearing a long richly decorated polychrome robe. The neckline is outlined by a scalloped blue, yellow and red motif, the long sleeves are embroidered with pink peonies against a green background, their folds match the pink and ivory colors of the front of the robe and blend into the skirt. She is holding a lotus flower.
For a very similar figure of the same size and same quality, see Jorge Welsh, Porcelain People: Figures from the Qing Dynasty, 2021, p. 138.
For a set of nine figures and standing immortals see Michael Cohen and William Motley, Mandarin and Menagerie: Chinese and Japanese Export Ceramic Figures, Surrey, 2008, p.64, no.2.1.
He Xiangu is the only truly female Immortal. She is thought to have lived during the Tang dynasty (618-907) and is usually characterized as a morally pure being. It is said that after eating powdered stones from the bank of a faraway stream, her body became so light that she could travel vast distances and that death had no hold on her. Her attribute is the lotus flower, which she holds in her hand, she can also be represented poised on a floating lotus petal, holding a fly-whisk or peach of immortality. She is said to have the power to improve mental and physical health, and is the patron of women.
Photography : Jérémie Beylard / Agence PHAR
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