19th Century Amethyst Quartz Carved Chinese Snuff Bottle
2 1/2" tall
"Star God of Longevity" Scene
Stars on deer could represent the "Fu" character in place of a bat. The whole composition forms the rebus "Fu Lu Shou" (Happiness or Luck, generally represented by a bat "Fu" or "Bian Fu", "Lu" meaning wealth or profit and also the word for deer, and "Shou" referring to longevity and being represented by the God of Longevity "Shoulao" )
Also there is a myth from the Ming dynasty that a deer was the companion of Shoulao who owed his longevity to the deer. The deer had the magical ability to sniff out lingzhi in the forest and guided shoulao to the Lingzhi which was the key to extending life.
2 1/2" tall
"Star God of Longevity" Scene
Stars on deer could represent the "Fu" character in place of a bat. The whole composition forms the rebus "Fu Lu Shou" (Happiness or Luck, generally represented by a bat "Fu" or "Bian Fu", "Lu" meaning wealth or profit and also the word for deer, and "Shou" referring to longevity and being represented by the God of Longevity "Shoulao" )
Also there is a myth from the Ming dynasty that a deer was the companion of Shoulao who owed his longevity to the deer. The deer had the magical ability to sniff out lingzhi in the forest and guided shoulao to the Lingzhi which was the key to extending life.
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