Buddhist pagoda of lapis lazuli inlaid with precious stones and pearls
Ten seal stones
A set of three jixue stone seals
Court beads of jadeite |
Qing Dynasty The three-layered gilt-copper round foundation is adorned with turquoises curling grass patterns inlaid with rubies, sapphires, opals etc against the background carved with floral patterns. The body of the pagoda is made of lapis lazuli and the shoulders are decorated with gold-edged strings of precious stones and turquoises along with four beast faces holding rings in their mouths. The rings are attached with gold chains that are connected with the canopy. There's a Buddhist niche on the front side, with a flight of jade steps at the entrance. There's a jade horizontal board engraved with four characters "wuliang shoufo" (meaning "the Amitayus Buddha") above the door of the niche. The door of the niche is made of gold and adorned with turquoise curling grass patterns inlaid with nine rubies, with 96 pearls embedded along the inner edge. There's a turquoise sitting Buddha statue holding a red treasure vase with both hands enshrined inside the niche. The 13-storey finial is engraved with curling grass patterns, and the carved gold canopy is ringed with Sanskrit text inlaid with turquoises, with ruby and rose quartz-ended strings of pearls and turquoises hanging down. The sun, crescent, flames and treasure pearl at the top of the pagoda are made of turquoise-inlaid gold and embedded with tourmalines, rubies and sapphires respectively. |








