Art Institute of Chicago

Open Book with Poem by Du Fu Describing the Eight Immortals

China

Date

Qing dynasty (1644–1911), late 17th–early 18th century

Medium

Ivory, text carved and inked

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This three-dimensional ivory carving, in the shape of a miniaturized book, showcases the ingenious use of the material and its visual and physical properties. Here, the natural color and texture of ivory smoothly translate into the depicted surface of paper in a printed book. The text is first carved and then filled with ink, which materially brings the carved object closer to its real-life counterpart. Details such as the curved pages from the folding and the descending edges printed with the book title further enhance the vividness of this work, attesting to the craftsmen’s sophisticated technique and astute observation. While a book with the same title was indeed in circulation during the Qing Dynasty, it does not include the two poems found on the ivory carving. The poem carved in its entirety is Du Fu’s “Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup,” which humorously describes the drunken scene of eight famous Tang scholars and celebrates their unbound spirits. The literary theme and playful tone of the poem echo the likely function of this object: a plaything on a scholar's desk.

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