glazed porcelain

H x D: 11.5 in x 10.5 in

In Daoism (Taoism), the gourd shape is taken to represent heaven and earth with an extended meaning representing the entire universe.

The gourd is also the Daoist symbol of alchemy. It was believed that the "elixir of immortality" could be produced through distillation of what we now know to be two poisonous substances, red cinnabar and mercury!