Gold and red lacquered vanity box decorated with the ‘Three Star Gods’, Fu, Lu and Shou. The three Gods or ‘Sanxing’ (三星) represent Prosperity (Fu), Status or Rank (Lu) and Longevity (Shou). Also depicted are two Cranes and a round Longevity character. The Cranes symbolize Immortality as well as High Rank and the circular Shou-character (tuanshou) means ‘May you have Longevity as well as Completeness’ (yuanman). The circular shape (yuan) refers to ‘Fulfillment’ or ‘Completeness’. The interior shows images of a Cricket sitting on a branch of Chrysanthemum flowers and a Dragonfly hovering over Bamboo. A Cricket (guoguo) and Chrysanthemum flowers (juhua) lead to the phrase ‘May you become an official of the first rank (guanju yipin). The Cricket (guoguo) is a pun for ‘Official’ (guan) and the Chrysanthemum (juhua) is a pun for ‘Dwell’ (ju). The first character of the Dragonfly’s name (qing ting) is a pun for Pure (qing) as well as Celebrations (qing) and the Bamboo symbolizes Humility, Fidelity as well as Peace. Vanity boxes were used to store make-up articles for the well-to-do ladies. This one dates from the late Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Width 41 cm. Depth 31 cm. Height 24.5 cm.