Page 293 - Christies IMportant Chinese Art Sept 26 2020 NYC

devotion to Buddhism carried over into works of art made during his Canopy (gai), royal grace; the Lotus (hua), purity; the Vase (ping),
reign. Jades, ceramics, textiles, bronzes and other items frequently eternal harmony, vessel of the nectar of immortality; the Paired Fish
incorporated Buddhist subject matter and symbolism. (shuangyu), conjugal happiness, fertility, protection, spiritual liberation;
and the Endless Knot (chang), eternity.
The current marriage bowl features the bajixiang, the Eight Auspicious
Buddhist Emblems, perhaps the most readily identifiable of the Compare another eighteenth century spinach-green jade marriage
symbols found in Buddhist iconography. The bajixiang represent the bowl of smaller size (30 cm. wide across handles) carved with catfish,
offerings made to the Buddha Shakyamuni by the gods immediately lotus and chrysanthemum, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May
after his enlightenment. These emblems can be briefly translated 2009, lot 1839.
as follows: The Wheel of 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