Gilt Fu Plate

Set against a repeating pattern of the ancient wan symbol for ‘ten thousand’ which signifies longevity, the character fu, meaning ‘good fortune’, is sculpted as a three-dimensional brush stroke and surrounded by bats, its homonym. Selective gilding in 24K gold embellishes this display object.

Fu Lu Shou 福禄寿, or the Sanxing (三星 Three Stars), are gods of the three celestial bodies Jupiter, Mizar and Canopus, and the three characteristics of good fortune (Fu), status (Lu) and longevity (Shou) in Chinese folk beliefs. The term ‘fu lu shou’, and the display of the three figures, is common in Chinese society to indicate and attract these three attributes of a desirable life.

About the collection

The exoticism and lofty symbolism of oriental style, legacy of a millennia-old continuous civilisation, provides an opulent counterpoint to the restraint of contemporary aesthetics.