An exquisite Chinese carved jade pendant dating to the depicting flowers and bats. The pendant is carved from a fine slice of jade, highlighting the skills of the artisan who made it.
In Chinese culture, bats are particularly auspicious animals and their presence in Chinese decorative art can be traced back as far as the Han dynasty. The association has linguistic origins: the pronunciation of “bat” in Chinese (蝠), is “fú” — the same as that of “blessing” (福), and since the characters have not changed much overtime, the connection has endured. Rather than taking on a menacing character — like they do in much of Western art — the bats’ physical forms become aesthetically pleasing patterns, floating around vines, flowers, or through wispy clouds.