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Lot Essay
The refined quality of the carving and luxurious use of use high-quality zitan in the construction of this rare ruyi scepter box may suggest it was made in Guangdong as a tribute to the Imperial Court or by craftsmen from Guangdong working in the Zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshops). The style of carving is closely comparable to that found on a pair of zitan compound cabinets in the Yangxin dian, the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Forbidden City, illustrated by Yang Boda in Tributes from Guangdong to the Qing Court, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 38, fig. 14, where the author attributes them to the Guangdong Workshop.
The production of important objects decorated with nine imperial dragons reached its height during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Dragons were often specifically associated with the number nine and it was believed that the dragon had nine attributes and also had nine sons. It was also thought that the dragon’s body had 117 scales - a multiple of nine (9 x 13) of which 81 were yang scales (9 x 9) and 36 were yin scales (9 x 4). This ritual association between the imperial dragon and the number nine is particularly apparent in the strict regulation of the elaborate nine-dragon robes made for the Qing imperial court.
The production of important objects decorated with nine imperial dragons reached its height during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Dragons were often specifically associated with the number nine and it was believed that the dragon had nine attributes and also had nine sons. It was also thought that the dragon’s body had 117 scales - a multiple of nine (9 x 13) of which 81 were yang scales (9 x 9) and 36 were yin scales (9 x 4). This ritual association between the imperial dragon and the number nine is particularly apparent in the strict regulation of the elaborate nine-dragon robes made for the Qing imperial court.