A Chinese blue and white jar
Of wide cylindrical form with short straight neck, painted in brilliant shades of underglaze blue, the exterior with two large shaped panels set within double blue lines; one decorated with deer looking up at a crane, old gnarled pine in the foreground and mountains in the background, the other panel with the deer looking up at the moon while another looks on, the panels alternating with a cloud pattern; the neck with keywork pattern, the base glazed and with a double circle in underglaze blue, and set with two loop metal carrying handles. Period: Kangxi (1662 - 1722). Height: 17,5 cm, diameter: 17 cm.
Deer and crane, as depicted on the present jar, are associated with longevity. Lu, the Chinese word for deer, is a homophone, another word which means happiness and prosperity. Deer are often depicted as a mount for Shou Lao, the Star God of Longevity, and cranes are similarly depicted carrying immortals to earth from the heavens. Moreover, their white feathers are associated with old age. Reinforcing the symbolism of longevity, the evergreen pine tree, as seen on the present jar, symbolizes long life.
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Of wide cylindrical form with short straight neck, painted in brilliant shades of underglaze blue, the exterior with two large shaped panels set within double blue lines; one decorated with deer looking up at a crane, old gnarled pine in the foreground and mountains in the background, the other panel with the deer looking up at the moon while another looks on, the panels alternating with a cloud pattern; the neck with keywork pattern, the base glazed and with a double circle in underglaze blue, and set with two loop metal carrying handles. Period: Kangxi (1662 - 1722). Height: 17,5 cm, diameter: 17 cm.
Deer and crane, as depicted on the present jar, are associated with longevity. Lu, the Chinese word for deer, is a homophone, another word which means happiness and prosperity. Deer are often depicted as a mount for Shou Lao, the Star God of Longevity, and cranes are similarly depicted carrying immortals to earth from the heavens. Moreover, their white feathers are associated with old age. Reinforcing the symbolism of longevity, the evergreen pine tree, as seen on the present jar, symbolizes long life.