5.6

Di Renjie

The judge and minister Di Renjie, who worked at the Chinese imperial court 1,200 years ago, was characterised by ironclad selflessness. Wearing a magnificently embroidered dragon robe, a sweeping hat and a mask, the puppet in the piece ‘The Five Happinesses’ still plays an important role today: it asks for success and blessings.

Company: Lao Mei Chunxiang Construction & Performance: not yet established Date: first half of the 20th century, China Material: clay, wood, textiles, metal, paper Provenance: 1984, sold by Lothar Heubel to Fritz Fey junior (now in the KOLK 17 collection)