Caishen (財神) literally means ‘God of Wealth’. The God of Prosperity is worshipped in Chinese folk religion and Taoism. He is depicted with a gold bar and three coins which symbolize Wealth. This miniature object was made using the kernel of a Chinese ‘gânlan’ fruit. It is about ten years old and bears the signature of Cao Le (曹乐), a well known carver in Suzhou. He was taught by grandmaster Zhou Jian Ming and set up his own studio ‘Cao Le Nut Carving Studio’ in 2006. We were told that the rough carving was done with the help of a laser followed by hand-finishing. Length 2.9 cm. Diameter 2.0 cm.