tablet (ritual & belief: cult of the dead)

Wooden ancestral tablet, consisting of an intricately carved frame, semicircular at the top, into which the inscribed tablet itself is set. The inscription “顯妣張母黃氏老孺之神, xiǎn bǐ zhāng mǔ huáng shì lǎo rú zhī shén” in the central vertical axis indicates that this is the ancestor tablet of the deceased mother Ms. Zhang, maiden name Huang. The inscription “奉祀男瑞麟叩, fèng sì nán ruì lín kòu” on the left axis literally means this tablet was offered by her son, Ruì-Lín (瑞麟). Accompanied by an old display label with white writing in capital letters on black card reading: ANCESTRAL TABLET COMMEMORATING THE VIRTUES OF A DECEASED PARENT, WHOSE SPIRIT IS BELIEVED TO ENTER THE TABLET DURING WORSHIP. CHINA'.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
4704
Date
19th century
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 352 mm x 180 mm x 78 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood; pigment
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
World Gallery > Asia > Chinese cultures
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Collection Information

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