Page 203 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Nov 2013 London
P. 203
The deer (鹿 lu) is a popular pun in Chinese art for ‘emolument’ or
‘official salary’ (祿 lu) and therefore suggesting the ultimate prize of a
career within the civil service of Imperial China.
Furthermore, the deer is associated with Daoism and the God of
longevity, Shoulao, and as the only creature able to search out the
lingzhi fungus, it is further symbolic of longevity.
Compare a related pair of ‘deer’ vases, also with Qianlong seal marks
and dated to the late Qing Dynasty, sold at Christie’s London, 14 May
2013, lot 274.
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