Portrait of the Fourth Courtier, Imperial Commissioner of Earth – Divine Portraits Project x Camelia Pham

The fourth painting by Camelia Pham for our project, Divine Portraits, portrays the Fourth Courtier, Imperial Commissioner of Earth. The theme color is yellow for it is the representative color of the Earth Palace [Địa Phủ].

The Fourth Courtier attends on Mother Goddess Liễu Hạnh and supervises the four realms on behalf of the Mother Goddess. The sacred sword in Her right hand represents Her bravery in the battles against the Chinese invaders to protect the country’s sovereignty. Her court literature hymn also said that the Courtier often manifests to banish ghosts and exorcise evil spirits, saving people. Her left hand holds a votive paper-craft horse, which a skilled paper craftsman has made, and a devoted believer has offered. Around Her chair are golden rice plants laden with seeds. The Ritual Gate [Nghi Môn] behind Her is decorated with the iconic pháp lam vitreous enamel. All of these details represent the skills, techniques and achievements the humans have achieved, which would be impossible without the blessings from all spirits of the Four Palaces.

Behind the Fourth Courtier is a three-opening Ritual Gate, associated with gods in general. “The four-column Ritual Gate is often associated with the communal house […] With the temple and communal house architecture, the central axis is often called the Holy Path or Spiritual Path. When it comes to the palaces and mansions (Temple of Literature, the Huế Imperial City, Shrine of Emperor Đinh, Shrine of Emperor Lê) […] that road is called Path of Bravery” [1] We chose the image of Ritual Gate because of its connection between the human realm and the divine realm. The Ritual Gate in the painting was inspired by the one in the Imperial Citadel of Huế, the center of imperial power under the Nguyễn dynasty.

Her costumes, in the Lê dynasty’s style, include three layers. The innermost and middle layers are Giao Lĩnh (crossed-collared robes). The outermost layer is Viên Lĩnh (round-collared robe). She’s wearing a parure including a golden collar, a sapphire ring adorned with jade and sapphire earrings. The golden collar is made with the motif of two dragons towards the sun.

The inspiration for the costumes is mainly from the book Weaving a Realm by Vietnam Centre

All of the patterns in the painting are from the Lê dynasty, provided by the vector collection Hoa Văn Đại Việt.