Design Concept

This artwork is inspired by the Begonia 海棠 (hai-tang in Chinese). The second character in the Chinese name for Begonia flower, is a homophone for the word 堂 (tang), which is used to mean “home” or “hall.” As such, when the design is within the home, it carries the blessing of a “home filled with wealth.” Then there are two magpies which symbolize fortune, one above and one below, representing auspiciousness added atop auspiciousness.

There are four fruits and vegetables, each with their own meaning: (1) grapes come in bundles and strings, each round and sweet. (2) Lychee, which in Chinese sounds like the word for “advantage,” signifies the Chinese idiom meaning “large gains from a small investment” which makes it an appropriate gift for entrepreneurship or business purposes. If the gift is for a wedding, lychee also sounds similar to “bearing child,” which carries the blessing of a large family. (3) Pomegranates carry as many seeds as they do blessings, and their fruits come in bundles, indicating cooperation and unity. (4) Pumpkins, which are also referred to as “golden gourds,” represent plentiful wealth and gold. 

這件作品的輪廓，像四片花瓣的造型，取自中國紋樣中的海棠紋；常見於中式古典園林的鏤空花窗，且「棠」與 「堂 」諧音，陳設家中寓意「滿堂富貴」。設計取的是一柄如意的柄首部分，俗稱如意頭。如意被圖騰化，東西南北四象限對稱均分，擁有東方美學裡大氣規整的審美。喜鵲有兩隻，一上一下，寓意喜上加喜。

四種蔬果，每一種都有寓意：葡萄一串串，圓潤甜蜜；荔枝諧音 「利勢 」，寓意一本萬利，適合開業或商業贈禮等；如果是結婚贈禮，還有 「立子 」的說法，多子多孫的意思；石榴，多子多福，而且果實緊抱，也有團結友愛的寓意；南瓜，又名金瓜，象徵金黃豐足。