Investiture of a Daoist Deity. Artist: Unidentified Artist. Culture: China. Dimensions: Image: 19 in. × 30 ft. 3/4 in. (48.3 × 916.3 cm)Overall with mounting: 19 in. × 34 ft. 1 in. (48.3 × 1038.9 cm). Date: inscription dated 1641.This painting, an unsigned work of a provincial atelier, is a rare example of popular religious art. Modeled on imperial commendation scrolls, with their ornamental borders of dragons chasing flaming pearls, the scroll illustrates the investiture of a local god into the Daoist pantheon. The first half of the scroll depicts the court of the Jade Emperor, supreme deity of popular Daoism. The enthroned emperor is flanked by four female attendants, four high officials, and two constellations of star deities, as well as guardians of the east and west, who are accompanied by their directional emblems, the dragon and tiger. Approaching this assembly is a file of haloed deities who have entered the sacred precincts through a pair of heavenly gates. The second half o