Pair of Antique Chinese Soapstone Gods - Shou Lao/Shouxing & He Xiangu

Pair of Antique Chinese Soapstone Gods - Shou Lao/Shouxing & He Xiangu.

Shouxing (or sometime Shou Lao) in Chinese mythology, one of Three Stellar Gods known collectively as Fulushou. He was also called Nanji Laoren (“Old Man of the South Pole”). Though greatly as the God of Longevity (shou), Shouxing has no temples. Instead, birthday parties for elders provide a fitting time for visitors to bow before his statue, which is draped in embroidered silk robes. Artistic representations often depict Shouxing as a bearded old man with a high brow and a crooked staff in one hand. He holds the peach of immortality in his other hand and has a wonderful expression on his face! 10 inches high, 4 inches at widest part of base.

He Xiangu, in Chinese mythology, one of the Baxian, the Eight Immortals of Daoism. As a teenaged girl she dreamed that mother-of-pearl conferred immortality. She thereupon ate some, became ethereal, and found she could float across the hills at will. She returned home each evening carrying herbs collected during the day. Artists depict her as a beautiful woman often adorned with a lotus flower. An early ;legendrelates that during a sumptuous birthday party for Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, she and the other Immortals became intoxicated with heavenly wine (tianjiu) and the fragrant surroundings. Though He Xiangu vanished after receiving a summons from Empress Wu Hou (7th century CE), someone caught sight of her 50 years later floating on a cloud. 10 inches high and 3.25 inches at the widest part of base. Both are in really great condition.