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Department:

The Museum Proper

Replica or Original:

Not a Replica

On Display, In Storage, or in a Private Offsite Collection:

On Display

Primary Material:

Ceramics

Medium:

Shiwan Ceramics

Dimensions:

Son: 5.5" x 4" x 7.5"
Mother: 4.5" x 4.5" x 10.5"

Classification/Category:

Furnishings

Specific Classification:

Figurine

Notable Signatures,

Inscriptions, and/or Markings:

Donated by:

Donated by the Fok Ying Tung Foundation

Accession Number

1993.022.006

Artifact Date:

Unknown

Unknown

Artifact Era/Dynasty:

Unknown

Creator:

Chinese

Creator Ancestry:

00:00 / 01:19

Searching for Mother features two sculptures that portray an interaction between Zhu Shouchang and his mother. Zhu Shouchang lived during the Song Dynasty. His commendable story lives on through the text The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars by Guo Jujing. 


Growing up, Zhu Shouchang's father was a civil servant and his mother a concubine. Zhu's mother remarried while she was pregnant. Eventually, Zhu joined his father in the military when he was young, separating him from his mother for about fifty years. 


In his later years, Zhu gave up his official title in order to devote himself to locating his mother. After many difficulties, he finally found her. Zhu brought his mother and his other brothers back to his home, where he looked after their needs and took care of them. Therefore, Zhu Shouchang became famous for his great final piety. The sculptures showcase the details that accentuate his mother's age and captures Zhu's remorse as he pleads beneath his long-lost mother.


These Shiwan cermics feature a crackle glaze. This glazing technique is achieved by applying two layers of glaze. The inside layer expands in the kiln more quickly, thus " cracking" the outside layer, giving Searching for Mother a unique and textured aesthetic. 

Artifact Date:

Unknown

Artifact Era/Dynasty:

Unknown

Creator:

Unknown

Creator Ancestory:

Chinese

Catalogue Entry

Online References:

Department:

The Museum Proper

On Display, In Storage, or in a Private Offsite Collection:

On Display

Replica or Original:

Not a Replica

A Shiwan Ceramic statue depicting Zhu Shou Chang and his mother.
一個描繪了朱壽昌和他的母親的石灣陶瓷雕像。

Listen

00:00 / 01:04

Classification/Category:

Furnishings

Specific Classification:

Figurine

Notable Signatures,

Inscriptions, and/or Markings:

Primary Material:

Ceramics

Medium:

Shiwan Ceramics

Dimensions:

Son: 5.5" x 4" x 7.5"
Mother: 4.5" x 4.5" x 10.5"

Donated by:

Donated by the Fok Ying Tung Foundation

Accession Number:

1993.022.006

Searching for Mother 棄官尋母

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