$ A MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAID ‘AUSPICIOUS FLOWERED VASE’ WOODEN PLAQUE VIETNAM, TONKIN, NAM DINH, LATE NGUYEN DYNASTY, CIRCA 1900 The wooden panel of vertical rectangular shape, with a recessed central part of oval shape, finely inlaid with numerous auspicious symbols such as flying bats and pierced coins (also known as sapèques), as well as with a flowered vases and the ‘Three Abundances’ theme (sanduo). H: 47 cm - width: 19 cm Notes: 1. The Chinese word for coin or money (qian - 钱) is pronounced the same as the word for ‘before’ (qian - 前). Therefore, a picture of a bat (fu - 蝠) on (zai - 在) an ‘eye coin’ (yanqian - 眼钱) creates a visual pun since saying ‘there is a bat on the coin’ (fu zai yan qian) sounds exactly like saying ‘happiness is before your eyes’ (fu zai yan qian - 福在眼前). The ‘Three Abundances’ (sanduo - 三多), also known as the ‘Three Plenties’, consists of the peach (symbolizing longevity), the pomegranate (symbolizing descendants or progeny) and the citron (symbolizing happiness and longevity). 2. This wooden panel may have been part of a complete cabinet.