A very fine white jade 'twin-fish' plaque


Finely carved in low relief, each side of the plaque with a double-gourd-shaped cartouche enclosing two fish hanging from a ribboned chime, the semi-translucent stone of an even white tone, box. 5.7cm (2 1/4in) long (2).
|白玉雕「吉慶有餘」佩Provenance: the Sze Yuan Tang Collection, Hong KongBonhams Hong Kong, The Sze Yuan Tang Collection of Chinese Jades, 5 April 2016, lot 61Durwin Tang Collection來源：香港思源堂舊藏香港邦瀚斯，「溫玉物華一思源堂藏中國玉器」專場，2016年4月5日，拍品編號61鄧德雍收藏The word 'fish' (yu 魚) shares the same pronunciation as yu (餘), which translates as 'abundance'. It combines with the chime, qing, to form a rebus of 'may there be an abundance of auspicious happiness'.White jade plaques of purity and high quality such as the present lot would have been given to newlyweds of high status or social hierarchy. Since fish are reputed to swim in pairs, they symbolise conjugal bliss; their great reproductive power further symbolise the wish for numerous offspring and continuation of the family.