A SILVER-INLAID BRONZE 'DOUBLE FISH' VASE QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

finely cast in the form of two leaping conjoined fish, the mouth of the fish hollowed out to form the mouth of the vase, the fish meticulously detailed with gold-painted eyes and silver-inlaid scales

Vases of this form are also known in other media; for example, see two cloisonné enamel examples of closely related form, from the Mandel Collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th May 2012, lot 3922; and a celadon-glazed pair mounted in gilt bronze stands, in the collection of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, published in John Ayers, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, vol. II, London, 2016, pl. 1234-1235. The entwined double fish, one of the bajixiang (eight auspicious symbols), was introduced into China through the influence of Tibetan Buddhism in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368). Not only used in Buddhist implements but also utilised as a popular motif for works of art, they symbolise connubial bliss, abundance and freedom from restraint.