The original would have been carved in China

It is not known exactly when or where the plaster cast was taken, probably in South Australia, Adelaide, between 1880 and 1887.

It is unknown exactly when the plaster cast was made from the original.

The original figurine, from which this cast was taken was discovered in 1879 in Palmerston, Port Darwin, a government official Mr Strawbridge, took possession of the carving. In 1888/89 the plaster cast was presented at the Centennial International Exhibition in Melbourne, as part of the South Australian display. The Technological Museum in Sydney (later MAAS) acquired the plaster cast from this exhibition.

Plaster cast of figurine 'Shou Lao', plaster, made for the South Australian Commission for the Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition, [made in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia], 1888-1889 (original figurine held in Powerhouse Museum collection number A4255, original figurine made in China, [early 19th century] and excavated in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, 1879).

Small plaster cast of a Chinese pinite carving (A4255) of the god of longevity, 'Shou Lao'. The figure is of a bearded man, riding astride a deer, his right arm is bent across his chest and in his right hand he holds a peach, his left arm rests on the deer's head.

Designed: China; 1880 - 1887

Not checked

A1

1880 - 1887

120 mm

80 mm

25 mm