Ornament

About this object

History of use

At new year these are pasted in a row along the upper edge of household, ancestral hall and temple shrines. They are pasted on the uncut short edge so that the remainder hangs free. They signify that the shrine is cared for. They are also for the purpose of attracting wealth.

Cultural context

New Year; festival

Iconographic meaning

Picture is of a god, possibly god of wealth; characters say 'wealth, good fortune'.

Physical description

Five (parts a-e) rectangular sheets of paper, coloured red on right side. Glued near centre of each sheet, on longitudinal axis, is a rectangular piece of gold coloured metal foil, printed with the image of a god in red and green, with two Chinese characters in gold on red squares above his head. The area below has been cut in a set of rough geometric designs.