Sculpture

[giulio cesare]

Hi, what about this sculpture?
Sorry I have just this picture
Best

[peterp]

It might be Shennong, a deity in the Chinese pantheon. It is said to have been a real person living thousands of years ago, who according mythology taught people agriculture.

[giulio cesare]

thanks Peter,
  the era in which it was made what would it be?
I'm sorry but I do not have a picture of the below

[peterp]

I do not know. BTW, the black color is not dirt, its residue of incense smoke.

[Hmm]

I don't think that's Shennong.  I'm pretty sure that's a statue of Bodhidharma. 

[giulio cesare]

thanks, but the frog and the leaves around the neck could be an allusion to agriculture.

[peterp]

Yes, Shennong is usually depicted with a collar of what seems to be leaves or similar. His ears are not pointed, as they often are. And that might be a toad (three-legged or not).
To Hmm, Bodhidharma is mostly depicted with the full body covered in cloth, often with a hood.

[Hmm]

Hmm. I always thought Shennong had horns on his head because he was somewhat related to Chiyou who Huangdi later defeats, but now that you mentioned the leaves around the neck, it does make sense that's Shennong.  Not sure about the toad though.  I don't recall Shennong ever being associated with a toad or frog.

[peterp]

Yes, there are horns,but not always. Sometimes it may look like hair or pointed ears. As many of the Chinese deities this one seems to be a deified real person of the distant past, but mostly he is shrouded in mythology.
Here is a link showing a great variety of his statues. He holds different things in his hand (sometimes none) that are related to agriculture. There is one painting where he holds a fish. I guess how he looks or what he holds depends on the people involved whitthe temple or the one who made the statue. I assumed it might be a toad, because the three-legged toad is just be another auspicious symbol. Otherwise I can not see a connection to agriculture.

tinyurl.com/y8dgrnp7

[giulio cesare]

Thanks Peter