IMPERIAL, PALACE WORKSHOPS, BEIJING, QIANLONG FOUR-CHARACTER MARK IN BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

The word for 'magpie' in Chinese (xique) is a homophone for 'joy'. The current bottle is decorated with two magpies which can infer double happiness such as that found in marriage. The branches upon which the birds are perched appear to be prunus (mei) which flower in late winter, and whose name is a homophone for “eyebrows.” Together, the magpie and prunus form a rebus meaning “May you have happiness up to your eyebrows.” The flowers on the reverse of the bottle are representative of the four seasons. Combined with the auspicious wishes for marriage across four seasons, the current bottle would have been a fitting gift for a wedding or marriage anniversary.