A black and gray jade double 'prunus' vase, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, late 18th century

Collection of the Marquis and Marquise de Ganay, Courances, France.

This combination of bamboo, zhu, and prunus, mei, represents the unity of a husband and wife. Together with lingzhi, a symbol of longevity, and the bat, fu, happiness, this vibrant scene forms the rebus fu shou shuang quan, ‘Wishing you long life and happiness.’

Compare a similar vase from the The Woolf Collection of Chinese Jade, London, 2013, pl. 72; another, bearing a Qianlong four-character seal mark, in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum. Jade, vol. 8: Qing dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pl. 186; and another related trunk-form vessel, carved with prunus branches in high relief, in Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 118.