明早期 陳彥清造鎏金銅老子像

Identified by his full beard, Laozi (also known as the Celestial Worthy of the Way and Its Virtue) is the quasi-historical author of the seminal Daoist text, the Daodejing (The Way and Its Power). Daoism, a major religion in China that can be traced to the sixth century B.C., is a term used to define an amalgamation of beliefs and practices that includes metaphysical and philosophical speculations as well as guidance for everyday life.

Credit: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 1997