Boxwood (huang yang mu) of ‘Cao Guojiu (曹國舅) who is the youngest of the Eight Immortals. He was said to be the uncle of Empress Dowager Cao (曹太后) of the Song Dynasty. As a result of his possible connections to the court, Cao Guojiu is also known as ‘Royal Uncle Cao’. He is often depicted with castanets or with a jade tablet which was believed to purify the environment and he is the patron deity of actors. The Eight Immortals (八仙) are a group of legendary saints in Chinese mythology. Their power can bestow life or destroy evil. This carving shows Cao Guojiu with his castanets. It entered our collection in 1968 and was discovered in a small oriental shop in the Eastern part of the Netherlands together with four other Immortals. In total there should have been eight Immortals but three had already been sold. The carving of these figures is of an exceptional quality. They were made around the early 1960’s or late 1950’s. Size without stand: Height 10 cm. Width 4.5 cm. Depth 3.5 cm.