Elephant-shaped incense stick holder in famille rose on a green ground, Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign (1736-1795)-China Archive

Image Number: C1B001565N000000000PAB
Dynasty: Qing dynasty
Category: Ceramics
Function: Incense set
Material: Minerals/Ceramics/
Description:
The main part of this incense stick is a shallow dish, with a tame elephant standing in its heart. It is decorated with eight kinds of Taoist eight treasures, namely, ancient coins, double coins, silver ingots, single coins, rhinoceros horn, Fangsheng, gold ingots and coral. Although it is the Eight Treasures of Taoism, the eight objects are quite different from the Eight Treasures of Taoism in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. For example, copper coins appeared three times, with different shapes, single coins and double coins. Another example is that silver ingots and gold ingots appear at the same time. In addition to expensive coral and rhinoceros horn, the whole incense stick is full of wealth and joy. The back of the elephant is decorated with a bottle, which means “peace and image”. The ancient coins have the words “Peace under Heaven”. The inside and outside of the dish is painted with lake green glaze, and the edge of the dish is decorated with purple palindrome in pink for a week. The bottom of the vessel is painted with red seal characters, “made in the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty”.