Gourd (葫芦 hu lu) in Chinese is pronounced similar to ‘fu (福, fortune)’ and ‘lu (禄, wealth)’, therefore its image is often used as a pun picture referring fortune and wealth.

Related Pun Picture:

May good fortune and ample official income come to your doorstep 福禄双至

• Fig 1: porcelain jar, c.1600–1640, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London

  Fig 2: porcelain snuff-bottle, Qianlong period (1736–95), Qing dynasty, courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London