Boxwood (huang yang mu) carving of Zhang Guo Lao (張果老) who is one of the Eight Immortals. The word ‘Lao’ added at the end of his name means ‘old’. Elder Zhang Guo was a Taoist alchemist (方士) who lived as a hermit in the mountains and claimed to be several hundred years old. He loved to make herbal wine which was drunk by the other Immortals as they believed the wine to have healing properties. He was also known to be a master of a Taoist breathing technique called qigong and could go without food for days, surviving on only a few sips of wine. Zhang Guo Lao had a white mule and when he stopped traveling, he could fold up his mule and place it in his pocket. When he wished to use the mule again, he poured water on it from his mouth and the mule regained its form. His emblem is a Yü Ku (鱼鼓) or ‘Fish drum’, which is a long and slender bamboo drum with a dried fish skin stretched over one end. Two iron rods inside the drum were used as rattling devices. This carving shows him sitting on his mule with his fish drum in one hand. The Eight Immortals (八仙) are a group of legendary saints in Chinese mythology. Their power can bestow life or destroy evil. Most of them are said to have been born in the Tang or in the Song period. This carving entered our collection in 1993. It was acquired at the Canton Fair in China and is an exceptional piece of carving. Height including stand 26 cm. Width 17 cm. Depth 7 cm.