A Rare Pair Of Embellished Gilt Repousse Copper Wall Vases. Qianlong Period (1736-1795). photo Christie's Ltd 2011

Each of double-gourd form embellished with jade and hardstone inlays with two characters, da ji (great auspiciousness), surrounded by the bajixiang in painted enamel, all set amidst a gilt ground of scrolling clouds divided by a ruyi head border at the waist, the vases set into later gilt-copper bases raised on openwork borders of ruyi heads: 12½ in. (31.8 cm.) high (2). Estimate $70,000 - $90,000. Price Realized $362,500

Property of Robert H. and Clarice Smith

Notes: 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.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II,  15 - 16 September 2011. New York, Rockefeller Plaza. www.christies.com