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The Chinese phoenix is a good luck sign. He only appears when the land is being ruled by a just king, according to Wolfram Eberhard, one of the leading Chinese symbolism scholars. The phoenix is one of the four fabulous creatures,recognizable by its long tail with a few feathers like those seen in peacocks. The other three fabulous creatures are the dragon, the turtle, and the Qi-lin, a special Chinese unicorn.  I fell for this bone and bamboo set because I loved the strutting phoenix: look at his attitude!

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Surprises can show up when you buy an old set. This set came with other tiles, covered by the Big Joker stickers that are issued by the National Mah Jongg League. (This allowed the previous owner to play with NMJL rules.) This is what I found under one such sticker, hidden for dozens of years. I believe this to be Cao Guo-Jiu, one of the Eight Immortals who often is seen wearing the official court clothing and holding a scepter. It is one of the finest carved mahjong tiles I have seen.

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The following tile did not come with the set, but it shows the Chinese character for Phoenix. The Mah-Jongg Sales Company of America, when they were first designing their own sets, placed the character for phoenix on what we call a Green Dragon today. (The Red was the symbol for Dragon.) There are two similar symbols for phoenix, one for the male and one for the female bird. MJSA used the male symbol, which has several small strokes at the bottom.

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Note the stylized lions on the front of this beautiful wood box with brass trimming
Note the stylized lions on the front of this beautiful antique wood box with brass trimming.

Lions are loved by the Chinese, but of course are not native to that country. According to Wolfram Eberhard, the first lions were probably brought there by emissaries from foreign countries, and these animals were kept in Imperial zoos. They feature prominently in Chinese folklore. When they are depicted in art, they rarely resemble real lions, perhaps because the artist had never seen a real one.

In art, when a pair of lions is seen, usually one is male and the other female; the male lion has an ornamental ball under his paw, and the female a lion cub. Here on this Mahjong box we may be seeing two male lions, with one ornamental ball between them. Lion-Guardians have appeared in art since the 3rd Century. In some representations of a lion with a ball, a lion cub is said to be in the embroidered ball, but others say the ball is actually a large pearl being played with by the lion. Here, because there is one ball and two creatures, the viewer can be reminded of the two dragons who often have a pearl between them, frequently seen in Chinese art.

This front panel lifts up to reveal the drawers behind. The brass is especially well detailed; other boxes have brass trim but usually it is plain or with few embellishments. This box was meant to have a prominent place in the home.

The side of this beautiful box has what resembles a flower pot (an image often seen on Mah Jong tiles and boxes)
The side of this beautiful box has what resembles a flower pot but is actually three halberds in a vase, symbolizing a hope for luck in life or on important exams.

This beautiful set was sold at auction in the summer of 2013.

To see more images from this set, click here.

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This set was recently sold at auction. It is deeply carved, and the ratio of bone to bamboo is very high. In Bone and Bamboo sets, the more bone, the more expensive the set. Notice how beautifully carved all the tiles are, and how the carver included creatures in the tile designs. The Bams are leaves, the Dots are mostly peaches, and the Craks are framed with what looks like stylized peaches and bats (symbols of longevity). Elongated peacocks frame the Green Dragon, and phoenixes frame the Red. Interestingly, as in many old sets, the White Dragon is a plain white tile. The East Winds are framed with what is perhaps a fox, and three other birds surround the other Winds. The Flowers appear to show scenes connected with a wedding.

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www.liveauctioneers.com/item/21587376_chinese-mahjong-set