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Can anyone tell me the significance of this Asian illustration. It is drawn on very thin rice like paper and appears to be hand colored. It has a whimsical feel to it with the bat in the top left corner next to the writing. Is this Japanese? Chinese? Korean? I'm stumped. Can anyone point me in the right direction or give insight as to what the writing says? The art is large and measures 45" x 20"

This is a Chinese depiction of 'Shou 壽' or 'The Old Man of the South Pole', one of three deities of the 'Fu Lu Shou' trilogy. He is usually pictured with a crane or deer, holding a peach, with a gourd full of the 'Elixir of Life', and a scroll, on which is written the lifespan of all living things. In this depiction, he seems to be holding a branch of a peach tree! The bat is a symbol of happiness and joy. The Chinese word for bat (fu 蝠) sounds identical to the word for good fortune (fu 福), so bats are considered to be auspicious in China.

I cannot help you with the characters, as they are written in seal script.

This is Shoulao, a Chinese Daoist deity associated with immortality (as is the peach, the gourd containing the elixir of life, the bat as a homonym for good fortune etc) but as you note can appear in Japan and Korean contexts too. The inscription is a wish for long life, the picture itself most likely a birthday gift. The drawing seems like a modern illustration than a painting despite the traditional subject matter.

Thank you so much for the interesting information and what great story it tells. This is most definitely an illustration and not a painting. When you say modern, do you mean made in this century? Do you have any idea as to how old this art may be?

Yes could be, but also could be a few decades older.

The character in your illustration is SHOU. Find out more on Internet!
Fu, Lu, and Shou (simplified Chinese: 福禄寿; traditional Chinese: 福祿壽; pinyin: Fú Lù Shòu), or Cai Zi Shou (財子壽), is the concept of Prosperity (Fu), Status (Lu), and Longevity (Shou). This concept of the Chinese traditional religion is thought to date back to the Ming Dynasty,[1] when the Fu Star, Lu Star and Shou Star were considered to be personified deities of these attributes respectively.

The term is commonly used in Chinese culture to denote the three attributes of a good life. Statues of these three gods are found on the facades of folk religion's temples and ancestral shrines, in nearly every Chinese home and many Chinese-owned shops on small altars with a glass of water, an orange or other auspicious offerings, especially during Chinese New Year. Traditionally, they are arranged left to right (so Fu is on the left of the viewer, Lu in the middle, and Shou on the far right)

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