Horn Scepter

This small scepter is carved to resemble a woody fungus known in Chinese as lingzhi ("sacred fungus"). The plant is also called the "fungus of immortality" because it was believed to be a powerful ingredient in elixirs intended to prolong human life. An inscription on the base contains a cyclical date and a sobriquet, or art name, used by the painter and antiquarian, Jin Nong (1687-1763). Thus it is likely that this horn object was made for (or possibly made by) Jin Nong.