Sometimes, if you are lucky, you come across a jade carving which breathes quality. This is such a carving. The jade is a fine white while the carving is excellent. Look at the boy's friendly face. He has a lotus flower across his shoulder and at his feet sits a magpie. This lovely little object is full of symbolism. The boy of course refers to a wish to get many sons. The Chinese word for lotus is lianhua (莲花) or hehua (荷花). 'Lian' is also the pronunciation of the word for Continuous (连) and 'He' is also the pronunciation for the word Harmony (和) so the lotus has the hidden message of 'Continuous Harmony'. A magpie (xi que 喜 鹊) is frequently used to symbolize 'Happiness' because the first character 'Xi' is the same word as happy (xi 喜). This figure dates certainly from the Qianlong period (1735 - 1796). Height 5.6 cm. Width 3.6 cm. Depth 1.7 cm. Weight 39.8 grams.