Small Antique Wood Carved Panel of a Qilin

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The Qilin, a divine unicorn in Chinese mythology, represents peace, prosperity, and wisdom. It visits virtuous individuals and brings blessings. … Read more The Qilin, a divine unicorn in Chinese mythology, represents peace, prosperity, and wisdom. It visits virtuous individuals and brings blessings. Therefore the Qilin is still a very popular art motif , however, it is the only time for myself to find it in a wood panel which was part of a wiindow or door in a home.

The qilin is a mythical creature composed of various animal parts. It is portrayed here as having the head of a dragon, the antlers of a deer, the scales of a fish, the body of a deer or ox, the hooves of a horse or ox, and the tail of a lion or ox. Above it is a band of ribbons and the parallelogram shape represents a jade musical object. Its hooves step on cloud shaped forms The carving is done in great details, even as a piece of architectural artifact.

The back of the panel is blackened with soot. The window or door panel from where it was part of must have been in a kitchen or near the brazier of coals. This type of carving is seen among the window or door panels from Anhui Province in Southeast China. See less