Tsuba with Chokaro and Mule Leaving the Gourd

Description This tsuba shows the Taoist Immortal Chokaro (Ch. Zhang Guo [Chang Kuo]) releasing his magic mule from a gourd. Chokaro sits at the lower right of the tsuba holding the gourd. The mule is above the central opening on the left. Chokaro's mule lived in the gourd until Chokaro needed it. The mule could carry Chokaro for thousands of miles and did not need to be fed.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Signature] 弘直; [Translation] Hironao (kao)

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters