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Subject:Re: Chinese small bottle marks 2
Posted By: Bill H Thu, Dec 19, 2019
I'll try to paraphrase a longer explanation of the inscription in the context of the principal applicable icon seen here in the images of your modern snuff bottle. Lotuses (lian 蓮), sometimes seen in a marsh with reeds (lu 蘆), conjure up an old blessing for Chinese students, ‘May you succeed in all of your exams’ (yi lu lian ke 一路連科). Examinations were extremely important in dynastic times, when virtually very Chinese student aspired to passing all of their civil exams with scores high enough to enter the Hanlin Academy, where candidates trained for the imperial bureaucracy.
Turtles are auspicious creatures vis-à-vis their longevity, so add a sense of prospering in the long term from successful studies.
Best regards,
Bill H.
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