Dating precisely to late autumn 1913, during the second year of the Republic of China, this monumental red-lacquered presentation plaque is a remarkable celebration of family, longevity, and good fortune. Four central gilt characters, 健順延釐, offer wishes for robust health, a smooth life, and enduring prosperity, while the surrounding inscription reveals the occasion: a joint 61st-birthday celebration honoring Han Guangbiao and Lady Chen. Presented by the Han family clan, the plaque records a remarkable gathering of relatives, including former Imperial Academy scholars, brothers, nephews, and grandnephews. Auspicious imagery fills the carved borders, including lotus, deer, peaches, and cranes, while 福如東海 expresses the wish that fortune be as vast as the Eastern Sea. Its craftsmanship and detailed inscriptions preserve an extraordinary family history.
Right Side: “Respectfully celebrating the grand milestone of the joint 61st birthdays of the highly esteemed community elder Han Guangbiao and his virtuously matched wife, Lady Chen (an honorary title denoting a woman of scholar-official status).”
Left Side: “Collectively gifted and erected in the late autumn of 1913 (the 2nd year of the Republic of China) by a massive multi-generational lineage of the Han family clan from Guangdong Province, led prominently by senior relatives who held elite imperial scholar titles (Taixuesheng) under the preceding Qing Dynasty, alongside seven younger brothers, eight nephews, and three grandnephews/grandsons.”
$3,400.00
| Dimensions | 84 × 2 × 28 in |
|---|---|
| Country | China |
| Age | 113 years |
| Material | Lacquer, Wood |
| Origin | Guangdong Province |
