
Asaph Hyman
Global Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
This auction has ended. View lot details


Sold for £36,000 inc. premium
Our Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialist
Global Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Provenance: a European private collection.
One of the bajixiang, the Eight Buddhist Emblems, the twin-fish motif symbolises freedom from restraint as well as the wish for marital bliss, prosperity and an abundance of good luck. Because fish are reputed to swim in pairs and are known for their reproductive power, the double fish stand for the joys of union and numerous offspring.
The design of double fish within the interior of the bowl may have have been inspired by Eastern Zhou Dynasty ritual pan vessels with fish design, and more closely with the double-fish design found on bowls and dishes dated to the Song Dynasty. Compare a related jade 'double-fish' bowl imitating an archaic bronze pan vessel from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in The Refined Taste of the Emperor: Special Exhibition of Archaic and Pictorial Jades of the Ch'ing Court, Taipei, 1986, pp.68-69.