an important bamboo carving of the 'Eight Daoist Immortals crossing the sea' Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th century

intricately carved to the hollow section of the rhizome, depicting a boat carrying the Eight Daoist Immortals under a canopy of knobby branches issuing clusters of peaches, each side of the boat with four Immortals with their respective attributes and accompanied by a monkey paddling with an oar, the openwork detail masterfully executed, the wood of rich reddish-brown tone, wood stand (2)

Selections from the Lutz Bamboo Collection, Denver Art Museum, Denver, 1979, cat.no. 15, p. 27.
Mikimoto Exhibition, Tokyo, 1987, no. 7.

Ip Yee and Laurence C.S. Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, Hong Kong, 1978, Part 1, no. 174.

There are reglued areas to the branches, particularly at the two ends where the branches are thinner and more fragile. In overall good condition.
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This carving depicts the Eight Daoist Immortals as they cross the rough sea after attending the peach festival of the Queen Mother of the West. Rather than traveling by their clouds, they combined their powers to sail pass the tempest. The proverb is a lesson on how individual strengths and gifts can be used to tackle the same obstacle.

The peaches are rendered in a very idiosyncratic manner. Though they exhibit pointed tips, they are not accompanied by their usual leaves. It is also curious to note that the thick vine wrapped around the fruitless section of the branch-constructed canopy is not the source of the clusters of fruit, thereby dispelling the theory of grapes or other vine-grown fruits. Considering the present subject matter of Immortals, this interpretation is consistent with the symbolism of the peach: immortality.

See two other bamboo carvings depicting this tale and with a canopy of peach trees, sold at Christie's New York, 29th March 2006, lot 242; and in our Hong Kong rooms, 4th November 1997, lot 1231.