The Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu, is an ancient mythical figure said to reside in the Kunlun Mountains far to the west. There she lives in a magnificent palace with jade terraces and a garden with the peaches of immortality. She is usually depicted sitting on a flying phoenix, accompanied by two servants. In this picture, one of the servants is wearing an umbrella-like canopy of peonies. The Queen Mother's retinue also includes the fairy Magu 麻姑depicted in the lower section of the painting. She is leading the mythical spotted white deer, another figure accompanying Xiwangmu, across a bridge surrounded by balustrades. The stag is pulling a cart with a large peony bush and a sealed jug. The marble balustrade, the steep cliffs and the tall cypresses seem to suggest the palace of the Queen Mother, to which the figures are probably on their way. The birthday of Xiwangmu was celebrated on the third day of the third month, an ancient spring festival when the peaches of immortality were also harvested. The painting is thus ideally suited as a birthday gift for an aged person.