figure (ritual & belief: representations)

Painted carved wooden figure in the form of a man with a snout like a pig, representing Pigsy, Zhu Baijie, from the novel Hsi-yu Chi, the Record of the Journey to the West. Pigsy, together with Monkey, accompanied the pilgrim monk Hsuan-tsang to India to fetch the Mahayana scriptures for China. He has a rounded belly, gold robes and is holding a staff or long-handled tool.

Part of The Louise Tythacott Collection . The Louise Tythacott Collection was compiled as the result of intensive fieldwork over several years in South China and Hong Kong. Ms Tythacott is a Chinese-speaking anthropologist and a museum curator, and was Curator of Ethnography at Liverpool Museum, who was particularly fortunate in developing contacts during the course of her work. Ms Tythacott has also made collections for the Museum of Mankind.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
2004.243
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 10.2362 x 5.7087 x 4.7244 in.; 260 x 145 x 120 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood; paint
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
SHAREABLE LINK

Continue exploring anthropology

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk