Chinese Porcelain Tongzhi Mark And Period Saucers 4x Famille Verte Qing Dynasty Antique 19th C.

A set of four Chinese porcelain “Monkey and Deer” saucers.
Tongzhi mark and period (1862-1874).

Hand painted with a recumbent deer holding the fungus of immortality in its mouth, lying underneath a pine tree with a monkey in it, a wasp and two magpies flying in the air. The base with seal mark Tongzhi and of the period.

Symbolism:
Deer (lu), bird (que), wasp (feng) and monkey (hou) combined make a rebus for “May you receive high rank and emolument (juelou fenghou). Combined with the fungus of immortality it conveys the wish “May you receive lifelong high rank and emolument”.
The bird (que) is a pun for “noble rank” (jue). “Deer” (lu) is homophonous with “emolument” (lu). The wasp (feng) is a pun for “confer” (feng). “Monkey” (hou) and “marquis” (hou) have the same pronunciation. This motif first appears on Ming-dynasty blue-and-white porcelain and continues to be popular in Qing-dynasty decorative arts.

Lit:
For the same saucer with matching cup, but marked Xianfeng and of the period (1851-1861), see: De Visser, Minke A. and Campbell, Denise A, “Toelichtende beschrijving van de verzamling Chineesch en Japansch porselein (Groningsch Museum)”, Afb. 34.

Ref: 
Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Terese Tse Bartholomew, p. 109, number 5.7.1

Dimensions:
Diameter 12.5 cm, height 2.5 cm.

Condition:
A+ very good. Some minimal fritting to the foot rim but no chips, breaks, restorations, etc.

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Code: MW28