Sold by Christies - Qing abstinence plaque - Details will follow
The two gourd-shaped plaques depicted here are actually two sides of the same plaque. Among the feast of colorful flowers, fruits, bats, and meandering vines, two words emerge on each side.
Rather than a front and a back, we are dealing with a Manchu side and a Chinese side. Both sides are equally vibrant and equally endowed with a ritual inscription. If you do not yet know why, how, and when the plaques were used, perhaps you might want to check out the Qing abstinence plaque in the related objects first.
