A large famille verte « birthday » dish decorated with the immortal Magu with a female attendant and deer pulling a cart.

The dish is decorated in the centre with the female immortal Magu (麻姑), the goddess of Longevity, in long flowing iron-red and green robes,  holding a ruyi scepter. She is with a female attendant and a spotted deer pulling a cart with a vat of longevity wine. The outside of the cavetto is painted with stylized Shou caracters in iron red. The base is inscribed with an apocryphal Chenghua mark in underglazed blue within a double circle.

Magu, is a daoist deity, whom origins are quite mysterious. She is often regarded as the female equivalent of Shoulao, the god of Longevity. Her image became popularized during the Kangxi period (1661-1722). She is usually depicted with a deer pulling a car with a vat of longevity wine which she brews from the lingzhi fungus.

Bibliography

The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, n°102 (a similar dish)

Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, n°98 (a similar dish)