Page 77 - Bonhams Chinese Works of Art June 2015 Hong Kong

The present lot depicting the naturalistic scene of a lotus pond Valuation
surrounded by its typical flora, with a pair of swallows in flight, was
a symbolic attempt to bring the garden into the living quarters of the
house, and more specifically into the immediate surroundings of the
scholar-official or a member of the Qing Court. Only very large gardens
would have been graced with a lotus pond and this scholarly object
would have asserted the high status of the owner. Furthermore, the
depiction of lotus would have been understood to represent the owner
as a person of integrity - a reflection of the famed ability of the flower
to remain ‘unstained by the muddy surroundings’. Additional religious
symbolism would have been imparted by the lotus being one of the
Eight Buddhist Emblems, symbolising purity. A swallow, known to
arrive in the Spring, heralds good fortune and a prosperous change for
the better; a pair of swallows, would therefore double the auspicious
wishes.

此器以出於污泥而不染的蓮花為題材，蓮花為八吉祥寶物之一，象徵
高尚純潔的品格；燕子是春天的象徵，寓意吉祥。此器雕工流利精
巧，且紋飾寓意吉祥，具乾隆時期的特徵，為難得的上乘之作。

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