Scepter in the Shape of a Ruyi Fungus
Unknown Artist
1700s
Medium
carved boxwood
Dimensions
l. 38.1 cm
Classification
Wood
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Cornelia Blakemore Warner Fund
Accession Number
1970.155
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The ruyi scepter was among the decorative items collected by the Chinese literati. It was thought that lofty and refined men of ancient times—the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove of the late AD 200s—carried ruyi scepters during the so-called pure conversations of the Daoists. The name ruyi (literally, as one wishes) conveys blessings of wish fulfillment. The fungus-shaped head is an emblem of immortality.