Cup Stand with the Eight Buddhist Treasures

Cup Stand with the Eight Buddhist Treasures

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The objects resting on lotus buds on the interior of this cup stand represent seven of the Eight Buddhist Treasures: a wheel, an endless knot, a conch shell, a victory banner, lotus flowers, a pair of fish, and a treasure vase. (The traditional eighth treasure, a parasol, has been substituted here by a pair of elephant tusks.) After the fourteenth century these symbols, not necessarily in a group of eight, appeared on metalwork, porcelains, and textiles in China and Tibet.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Cup Stand with the Eight Buddhist TreasuresCup Stand with the Eight Buddhist TreasuresCup Stand with the Eight Buddhist TreasuresCup Stand with the Eight Buddhist TreasuresCup Stand with the Eight Buddhist Treasures

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.