The Shining Ziwei Star

      Ziwei is the name of a star in the sky. Legend says that a water demon called Wuzhiqi caused flood disasters in ancient times. KingYu was assigned to tame the flood waters. He sent the two gods, Tong LO and Wu Mu, to capture the demon but were defeated by him. King Yu then sent God Gengchen (Ziwei Star) to fight the demon.

Ziwei succeeded in defeating and capturing the demon. After King Yu locked Wuzhiqi with iron chains and put him under the Turtle Mountain in Huaiyang, there was no more flood. In this picture, KingYu rides on the back of a water beast (Wuzhiqi) and holds high a Yin and Yang Diagram in one hand and the Shining Ziwei Star in the other. Behind him are a heavenly column with a sword hanging on it and a vase with flowers symbolizing prosperity in it. This exorcist picture of King Yu subduing the water demon was printed in Guangdong. As King Yu was also said to have cast bronze tripods, cloissone workers  honoured him as their originating master

Elephant for Peace

     Cloisonn6 objects are made by applying enamel on a metal body. It is called Jingtai Blue because it was first made during the Jingtai reign (1450-1456) of Ming dynasty. A vase on the back of an elephant is a homonym of a phrase for peace and good luck.