A rare Chinese lacquered figure of Chen Wu

A rare Chinese lacquered figure of Chen Wu, late Ming dynasty, but with a later inscription including a date corresponding to 1732. Finely carved and lacquered, seated with his right hand clenched on his knee, the left resting with the palm upwards, his face with a serene expression and with long hair falling to his shoulders, he wears a long sleeved robe tied at the waist with a long sash and decorated with a raised design of dragons, phoenix, flowers and flames, the reverse carved with a long incised inscription dated 28th day of the fourth month of the 10th renzi year of Yongzheng. Together with a modern stand, 42.5cm. (2) The inscription appears to record the dedication of the image to a temple by two disciples, Deng Shangyuan and Wan Songling, who commissioned the image to be made by two artisans, Sha Qiyang and Luo Shiyan. The symbolic snake, barely visible within the folds of the robes, identifies the figure as Chen Wu, who is more normally depicted with the snake wrapped around a tortoise at his feet.