Lot 103
CHINESE GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF KUIXING
QING DYNASTY
Auction: 07 November 2025 from 10:00 GMT
Description
清 銅鎏金魁星點斗獨占鰲頭擺件 帶木座
the god of examinations Kui Xing shown standing atop a marine turtle-head ao fish, his right arm raised holding a brush pointing to the top of his head, whilst the left hand holding an ingot, all on a pierced rocky podium, with a fitted wooden stand
Dimensions
15.5cm high; 462g
Footnote
In Daoist tradition, as Kui Xing's form developed, people depicted his right foot standing on a giant turtle (鰲, ao), in reference to a traditional saying, 獨佔鰲頭 (Du Zhan Ao Tou), 'to stand alone on the ao's head', meaning coming in first in examinations. Similar depiction of Kui Xing, see an artificial planter with a coral carving of the deity, formerly in the Qing Court collection, currently in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, museum no. 故雜Gu Za 1375.