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Lot Essay
The decoration on the present pair of wall vases encompasses numerous auspicious symbols. The double-gourd is associated with Daoism, as it is the attribute of the immortal Li Tieguai; it is also symbolic of prosperity and abundance, and in particular, an abundance of male children. This theme of abundance is reinforced by the characters, da ji, 'great auspiciousness', set in hardstone into the gourd.
The current vases feature the bajixiang, the eight auspicious Buddhist emblems, perhaps the most readily identifiable of the symbols found in Buddhist iconography, and a common decoration found on imperial works of art produced under the Qianlong Emperor. The bajixiang represent the offerings made to the Buddha Shakyamuni by the gods immediately after his enlightenment. These emblems can be briefly translated as follows: The Wheel of Law (falun), the Conch Shell (luo), the Umbrella (san), the Canopy (gai), the lotus (hua), the Vase (ping), the Paired Fish (shuangyu), and the Endless Knot (zhang).
Compare an embellished metal double-gourd-form vase, also inset with the characters da ji, in the Yang Xin Dian (the Hall of Mental Cultivation), illustrated in Palaces of the Forbidden City, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 94, no. 80.
The current vases feature the bajixiang, the eight auspicious Buddhist emblems, perhaps the most readily identifiable of the symbols found in Buddhist iconography, and a common decoration found on imperial works of art produced under the Qianlong Emperor. The bajixiang represent the offerings made to the Buddha Shakyamuni by the gods immediately after his enlightenment. These emblems can be briefly translated as follows: The Wheel of Law (falun), the Conch Shell (luo), the Umbrella (san), the Canopy (gai), the lotus (hua), the Vase (ping), the Paired Fish (shuangyu), and the Endless Knot (zhang).
Compare an embellished metal double-gourd-form vase, also inset with the characters da ji, in the Yang Xin Dian (the Hall of Mental Cultivation), illustrated in Palaces of the Forbidden City, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 94, no. 80.