Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Gold and Jade
Not on view
Chubby boys and multiple visual puns are frequently featured in popular prints. Here, the boy is playing with four fish (yu), which is homophonic with the characters for “plentitude” and “jade.” On his bib is a lotus flower (lian), a pun on “continuity,” which conveys the wish for male offspring to carry on the family lineage. Other auspicious symbols include peaches for longevity and peonies for wealth and honor. To strengthen the wish for extensive happiness, the background is patterned with swastikas, a graphic form of the character denoting “ten thousand” (wan).
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