Fortune, Wealth, Longevity and Happiness

Using the technique of fine brushwork in traditional Chinese painting, the artisan illustrated on a big gourd four groups of patterns representative of fortune, wealth, longevity and happiness respectively. Against a background of “round heaven and square earth” on the curved surface of the gourd there locate four scenes of different themes, namely, immortals receiving prayers from mortals, achieving high-ranking officialdom and incomparable honor, Chinese zodiac animals celebrating birthday, and a happy wedding. Traditional Chinese auspicious motifs such as bats, gourds, golden toads, hoof-shaped ingots, lingzhi, ruyi, pomegranates, lotus seeds, etc., are used to express the artisan’s wishes.