A Pair of 19th Century Porcelain Elephant Incense Stick Holders

A pair of 19th century porcelain elephants, decorated in polychrome glazes with incense holders.

In China, the elephant is considered to be a felicitous animal. This is because the Chinese character for the animal has the same pronunciation as the Chinese word for lucky or auspicious. As in this example, the elephant is often represented with a vessel on its back. Most commonly this vessel is a vase, since it is a homophone to the word ‘peace’, meaning that both good luck and peace are bestowed upon its owner. This literal translation has, however, been extended to incense burners, candlesticks and many other vessels over time.