19th Century Blue & White Glazed “Double Happiness” Marriage Vase Lamp

A late nineteenth century blue and white glazed double happiness marriage vase, mounted with turned giltwood collar and base as a table lamp.

Dimensions refer to porcelain and giltwood parts only.

Wired to UK Standards. This lamp an be rewired to all international specifications.

Shades available to purchase separately.

Gaining significant popularity in the mid-nineteenth century, double happiness marriage vases were traditionally gifted to newlyweds with wishes for eternal happiness and longevity.

The repetitive motif appearing on the surface of each vase is called shuangxi. It depicts a doubling of the character xi (喜, meaning joy) to express harmony, affection, and shared fortune for the couple. Records from the Tongzhi Emperor’s wedding reveal large-scale commissions of porcelain pieces decorated with the Double Happiness symbol, establishing their place at both court and in popular culture. From the mid-nineteenth century, the shuangxi emblem became an established part of matrimonial custom.

Marriage vases are often decorated with elaborate and stylised floral motifs, as seen in the pieces within our collection. In Chinese decorative language, the orchid signifies love, fertility, and elegance. Confucius linked the orchid to an honourable person, also representing nobility and integrity. The repeated occurrence of the Double Happiness character, as well as the addition of other floral motifs demonstrating longevity such as sweet-pea vines, makes the message for lasting joint love and harmony even clearer.

The Chinese porcelain vase became a fashionable medium for lighting in the early twentieth century with the dawning of electricity. The grand houses of Britain, Europe, and America incorporated adapted oriental objects into functional light sources as an alternative to conventional oil lamps. Blue and white porcelain is the greatest representation of this, and Double Happiness vases with their character marks and soft foliate grounds lend themselves perfectly to this tradition.