imitation currency

A sheet of funerary money, rectangular shape, with yellow pigment to represent gold. At the centre is a red square impression in the style of a seal, coated with silver and gold foil and decorated with a large 'shou' character, meaning longevity. This is flanked by two Gods of Wealth. At the top is a bat, the manufacturer's label is at the bottom (Chen's Village: Xiang Li). The four corners are inscribed with the Chinese characters fu, shou, kang, ning, meaning happiness, longevity, health and peace. These are positioned within a key-fret border. Such sheets would be folded in the form of an ingot and burnt at a funeral, for use by ancestors in the afterlife.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
nn11181i
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 186 x 165 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
paper; pigment
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
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Collection Information

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