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Stand with auspicious bats

Stand with auspicious bats

18th century or earlier

Chinese

Five upside-down bats form a visual pun for the phrase “The five blessings have arrived.” In Chinese, the word for bat (fu) has the same sound as the words for both blessings and riches, making the bat a doubly auspicious motif. The carving of jade into movable, interlocking frets is a marvelous technical feat.
Nephrite
2 1/4 x 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. (5.72 x 6.99 x 6.99 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
33.1084
location
Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Live Long and Prosper: Auspicious Motifs in East Asian Art, May 23, 2009 - Feb. 21, 2010.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM