CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, XVIIIEME-XIXEME SIECLE

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 the Law (falun), the inexorable expansion of the Buddha's teaching; the Conch Shell (luo), majesty, the voice of the Buddha; the Umbrella (san), spiritual authority, reverence; the Canopy (gai), royal grace; the Lotus (hua), purity; the Vase (ping), eternal harmony, vessel of the nectar of immortality; the Paired Fish (shuangyu), conjugal happiness, fertility, protection, spiritual liberation; and the Endless Knot (chang), eternity.