Identifying Oriental 'Priest' sculpture

[Puzzled001]

Hi all, I have been given a garden statue of an oriental old man (priest, I think) with an open 'prayer' scroll extending from his right hand at shoulder height to his waist , in his left hand, resting on his waist, is 'cupped' what looks like half an advocado with the stone in the middle. I have 'googled'50 odd pages and cannot identify this . Any one into oriental religious iconary, any guidance much appreciated

[slaney]

Could the fruit be a peach, or a gourd, a symbol of long life? The scroll could represent good fortune.
http://www.ivoryandar...hethreeluckygods/page

[Puzzled001]

Thanks,slaney, I'll start looking up Taoist sculpture as a specific, the 'regal' kimono could be a guide ? G

[EDDIE51]

Can you post a photo ? far easier if we can see it.

[Puzzled001]

EDDIE51, how do I do that ? not that PC savvy, G

[Khandro]

Try Confucius.

[Puzzled001]

Hi, Khandro, I have looked up Confucious but the only Iconary I can see just shows him with his arms extended down his body with empty hands !, G

[Calibax]

Unlikely to be an avocado in an ancient oriental depiction as they come from central america.
Shou Xing is often depicted holding a peach.

[sandyRoe]

http://comps.fotosear...se-gods_~k1231126.jpg

Is this it?

[Puzzled001]

Yes!!!! ,sandyRoe, it's the one in the middle, can you give me any more info, please, G

[sandyRoe]

Not a lot, I'm afraid. It's Chinese. Maybe the image will help others here identify who it is.

[Puzzled001]

Thanks again ,sandyRoe, hope someone can enlighten me further with possibly a name , though it is nice to know it's a traditional Chinese God or Deity ( spelling ?) of good luck. Thanks to all for your help, G

[EDDIE51]

There are some on here who may be able to translate the characters on the scroll if , they can zoom in close and read them.

[slaney]

Well done Sandy.
I've had a look, and the middle figure looks like a composite of two gods in my link above - Fu and Shou, one with a scroll and one with a peach.
Do the characters on the scroll look anything like this?
http://www.supplierli...sure_Deity_Statue.htm

[Puzzled001]

Hi,all ,again, slaney, the characters don't match those on you lastest post, G

[Ellipsis]

Looks to be Cai Shen, the Chinese god of wealth/prosperity:

http://www.123rf.com/...n-china-having-h.html

[Khandro]

The figure on the left in Sandy's picture is Shakyamuni Buddha making the gesture called Abhaya mudra. As they appear to be a grouping from the same source, I would suggest that they are Chinese Buddhist in origin, if this is any help.

[Khandro]

Re. my post; having looked at Ellipsis' picture, I now think that though they may be from the same source, the one you want to identify is not Chinese-Buddhist. (Though the one on the left is the historical Buddha; Shakyamuni.)

[Ellipsis]

Cai Shen ...

http://www.flickr.com...02865@N08/5462935055/

[slaney]

And here is a cut price one
Positioning seems to be all important!
http://www.fengshuima...chinese-god-of-wealth

[askyourgran]

Thank you for that, I have a small black chinese figure someone bought for me, it's only small but this little man has what looks like a small dish with a stone on it holding it with both hands over his head, I've often wondered what it stood for.