Jade Elephant wearing on it’s back a wealthy gilded bronze and turquoise inlays caparisoned, a vase with ribbons above it (one of the eight buddhist emblems, “Bajxiang”), all ornated with lotus flowers.
During the qing dynasty, especially for the Qianlong Emperor’s birthdays, elephants bearing vases on their backs were important part of the processions.
One can see in the Beijing Forbidden city Imperial rooms these jade elephants on stands, next to the imperial thrones.

References:
– Classics of the Forbidden City – Life in the Forbidden City of Qing Dynasty, n°215 (a lapis-lazuli similar elephant)

– The Palace Museum Collection – A Treasury of Ming & Qing Dynasty Palace furniture, vol. II – Fig. 782 (a pair of jade elephants in The Forbidden City Collection)