Figurine Chinese Household God "Tien-How"
date: label: Accession Date
content: 28 Aug 1889
name: label: Collector
content: Capt Joseph G. Bruff
label: Donor Name
content: Mrs. Joseph G. Bruff
notes: label: Notes
content: From card: [From 19th or early 20th century exhibit] "Label: "Chinese Household God: - Tien How - Queen of Heaven, or Holy Mother of Buddha; of whom she was thus miraculously conceiv'd: - she laid her mantle upon an island, while she bathed in the sacred Ganges; on returning, she found a lotus-bud on the garment, and having ate it, produc'd the miraculous results. At the earliest age, he exhibited extraordinary wisdom: and his wisdom and scantity increas'd with his years; until greater than any other mortal; and, at length he became the God of the country; and his religion, finally, became the popular belief of all India, until supersedid in India proper, its birth-place, by Brahmaism: but the former continues to be the religion of over 315,000,000, in China, the peninsula of India, beyond the Ganges, Siberia, and the Indian Archipelago, and Japan. Budha is suppos'd to have died at the age of 56; and flouris'd, from 543, to 2420 B.C. Tien-How is Chinese. The Brahmaic religion is that of more than 111,000,000 East Indians. (This idol is of great age)" Carved in one piece from a cream-colored soapstone. The adult figure, squatting, holding lotus in left hand, a jar in right arm and below this is the smaller figure (supposedly of Buddha) holding a round fruit of some kind. Top of jar broken off and some damage to the back of head."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 31 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: China, Asia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Not Given
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 022308
label: USNM Number
content: E130815-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Figure