Old Handcarved Wooden Mooncake Mold - Lotus flower

Old Chinese Handcarved Wooden Molds - Chinese Cakes:

- Handcarved wooden molds used in making rice cakes for Chinese celebrations at New Year and the first full moon conveyed a family's hopes for good fortune in the coming year.
- Special wishes for abundance are expressed with carvings of fish, symbolizing plenty, regeneration and harmony. The rice cakes themselves, whether made with such special molds or just patted into round or oval shapes, carry a symbolic meaning of peace, harmony and the family circle. Also called moon cakes because they are eaten on the first full moon of each year, they are thought to have originated with the ancient worship of the moon. These molds are from the mid-20th century.
- It is not a reproduction, but a mold that has already been used (traces of use).