Chinese and Tibetan Furniture and Artefacts
This Abacus Screen is a House of Suzie Wong original design. Made from recovered elm wood with jadeite discs and beads, this screen is suitable for use as a room divider. The beads are fully movable along the wooden rods.
Height : 6ft 2in / 1.88m
Length: 5ft 10in / 1.78m
Width (at base): 18in / 0.46m
best wishes from all of us at House of Suzie Wong, we hope you will visit us again soon in the Year of the Rabbit!
Offer ends Feb 4th.
Someone came into the shop today - he seemed to be enjoying himself, and appreciating the Chinese woodwork and carvings when he noticed a swastika on one of the carvings. He asked about it and I though I would post some information about the long history and origins of the swastika.
The swastika is one of the oldest symbols in India and China.
In the Indus culture of Mohenjo-Daro (2500-1500BC) it was used mainly as a symbol of good luck.
In China it was mostly used as a symbol of immortality.
The swastika can be clockwise or anti-clockwise.
The former is the "seal of the heart of Buddha"and often seen on the breast of statues of Buddha.
In China, it was an old form of the character fang..meaning the 4 regions of the world.
From about AD 700 it has been used to mean..ten thousand..(wan)..symbolising infinity
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The Swastika / Svastika
Consists of a cross with 4 ends bent at right angles and directed to the right.
It is a symbol of good fortune in the artistic vocabulary of many cultures and has been found in the art of the Egyptians,Romans,and Celts as well as that of native Americans,the Persians,and the ancient Greeks.
In India the the symbol is often seen on artifacts from the Indus valley Civilisation as early as 2500BC and is generally considered as a symbol of the sun.
The name svastika or swastika is derived from the Sanskrit root sv--asti.meaning well being, good fortune, success prosperity
In Hindu belief, the swastika became identifired with the god Vishnu as a symbol of his solar disc and was a mark that often appeared on his chest.
It is also associated with another major god Shiva and the snake cults of the Naga (markings on the cobras hood)
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In Buddhist symbolism, it is considered to be the symbol or seal of Buddhas heart, and is believed to contain within it the whole mind of Buddha.
This sign is is the first of the 65 auspicious signs on the foot print of Buddha.
The Sauvastika (which turns counter-clockwise) is the fourth sign.
In the indigenous Bon tradition of Tibet the swastika is an important symbol of the eternal or unchanging.
However, the Bon swastika rotates in a counter clockwise direction.
It was the counter clockwise sauvastika that was used by the nazis.
In China the symbol was probably from the ancient character fang - meaning the 4 directions of the world
Later on it came to represent the number 10000 - meaning infinity - meaning ten thousand years of good fortune.
In Buddhist art it appears on a range of objects, may appear on breast of Buddha..representing the seal of the heart of Buddha, and also appear on palms and soles of the feet.
In China it is commonly seen on decorative art.
from Susanna, Kenneth and Amy.
