Marrakech Craft — Cricket Vessel, Standing Form, Wenge & Fu-Lu-Shou

Fu, Lu, Shou — Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity — are the three gods most commonly depicted in Chinese decorative art. They appear on everything from temple ceilings to restaurant walls, usually together, usually smiling. The tradition of carving them into functional objects — so that the blessing is built into the thing itself, not just hung on the wall — goes back to the Song Dynasty.

Wenge — jichi mu in Chinese, literally "chicken-wing wood" — is named for the feather-like grain pattern that appears when the wood is cut across the growth rings. It is one of the hardest and densest of the Chinese decorative woods, with a natural lustre that deepens with age. The same wood appears in Ming Dynasty furniture now held in museum collections.

This standing-form vessel has a taller, narrower profile than the round-belly variety — designed for display as much as function. The wenge lid is carved with Fu, Lu, and Shou in low relief. The body is the same wenge, uncarved, letting the grain speak.

Origin: China · Marrakech craft tradition, Morocco
Material: Carved wenge lid and body
Type: Decorative vessel

One piece only. What you see is what ships.