East Asian Wooden Funerary Scholar Statue
I was told this statue was korean by someone trying to buy it from me, I ended up not selling it. After looking at the writing that came out of the hollowed out back, I realized it might not be Korean. I thought Korean writing had more circles and ovals and this writing does not have that. I sent it to my friend who has family that speak korean and they said it was most likely Chinese. This leads me to believe the statue is chinese. I believe the front of the statue has been redone and the paint is not original. It is 23 inches tall, 10 inches wide, and 7 inches deep. I believe it is a funerary statue because the hollowed out back contains two pieces of paper with caligraphy writing and a piece of an old nut. Someone online who speaks/reads Chinese told me the paper was written in 1870 and speaks of genealogy and family tree stuff. I believe it contains family birth and death records and the statue is a family god or ancestor.
Bought from a man's estate in Cincinnati OH. The man lived in different parts of China and Hong Kong and said he bought it over there.
Other
Maybe
Dear Kieran,
What you have here is a Chinese ancestral statue from the Qing dynasty ( late 19th century ). These statues were made in honor of the deceased person but in other rituals the spirit of the death person was invited in the statue so if would stay there save in a temple or shrine. The paper inside usually referred to the deceased person. T me the paper looks later then the statue itself so I'm not sure if this combination is original. I believe if your statue came to auction it will fetch a price around the estimate.
