Pair of vases with crickets
Republic period (1912–49), Hongxian mark and period (1915–16)
Not on view
Crickets, which have long been kept as pets in China, are symbols of happiness (xi) and auspiciousness (xi) in part because one name for these insects is xishuai and the initial character, xi, serves as a homonym for both words. This pair has both a Hongxian mark and a second mark reading jurentang, or the Hall where Benevolence Resides. Jurentang is the name of a house where Yuan Shikai (1859–1916), the autocratic first president of the Republic of China, lived and had his office.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
