CHINA, Charms. 19th century. Silver Plated Æ Engraved Lock Charm - Yín suō piàn - with Buddhist allusions (61x75mm, 17.19 g). As made.

Electronic Auction 558
Lot: 815. Estimated: $ 100

World, Silver

Sold For $ 80. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Go to Live

CHINA, Charms. 19th century. Silver Plated Æ Engraved Lock Charm - Yín suō piàn - with Buddhist allusions (61x75mm, 17.19 g). Ornate openwork plate engraved above with ball and leaf design, flanked by pair of apotropaic Hànzì. Obverse has in three columns in Hànzì: Lī xīn sòng, Zhāng wáng liú, and Guŏ péng wāng / Reverse has in two lines in Hànzì (left to right): nán wú, and Ā nī tuó fó (typo for Ā mí tuó fó (a title of the Buddha Amitabha). Toned, deposits, a few places where the plating is cracked, revealing the core, holed for suspension with orginal chain. As made. Rare with the typo, perhaps as an attempt at apotropaic magic.

Ex Goldberg 110 (4 June 2019), lot 2177.

Note from the consignor:

There are a few possible guesses on the intention [of the typo on the reverse] ... The engraver wrote down the typo by accident, which is not very likely since the engraver can write other Chinese characters perfectly (even though not good calligraphy). [More probably], Whoever engraved this lock charm put down that typo on purpose ... [I]n China, there is a naming taboo tradition. So, in most cases, a typo has a special meaning. It’s highly possible for the engraver to try to use the character 你（NI, which means “you”) to replace 弥 Mi (one part of the Buddha’s name). In this typo way, that typo changed the subject (the 9 people wanted to ask a favor) from Buddha to “you,” “You" can be anyone. Then, the function or intention of this silver charm lock is changed from "asking for good luck from Budda” to " these 9 people wanted to get rid of bad luck and to pass the bad luck to anyone else”.

Closing Date and Time: 20 March 2024 at 14:31:20 ET.

All winning bids are subject to a 20% buyer’s fee.