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Lot 95

Sale 6419 - Asian Works of Art
Dec 16, 2025 10:00AM ET
Live / Philadelphia
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Estimate
$800 - 1,200

Lot Description

A Small Chinese Famille Rose Hai Wu Tian Chou Plaque
粉彩海屋添籌圖瓷板

Depicting three elders with a young attendant holding bamboo counters under a pine, one counter carried by a crane to a pavilion in the sea.

Note:
Based on a discussion by Dr. Niben Yi, in "More Than a Simple Assemblage of Individual Symbols of Longevity: Discussion on a Pictural Narrative Scene of 'Hai Wu Tian Chou' (https://tutuhaoyi.com/blogs/commonly-misunderstood-images/more-than-a-simple-assemblage-of-individual-symbols-of-longevity-discussion-on-a-chinese-pictorial-narrative-scene-of-hai-wu-tian-chou), the present scene illustrates a modified version of a literary anecdote of three elders meeting to compare their relative ages. One elder says that he has filled ten rooms with bamboo slips, each symbolizing one year. The scene has been adapted over time to show a crane, counter in its beak, adding it to the pavilion in the sea (Haiwu), as an allusion to wishes for longevity, often related to birthday wishes.
Height 5 3/4 in., 14.5 cm.; width 3 3/4 in., 9.4 cm.

Property from a Philadelphia collector

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

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