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Lot Essay
Valentine Everit Macy was an industrialist and philanthropist who served in many government capacities in Westchester County, New York, during the early 20th century. He was also a benefactor and trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Macy and his wife, Edith Carpenter Macy (1869–1925), acquired many Asian works of art on their honeymoon in Asia in 1896.
The use of aquamarine for works of art greatly increased after 1759, when the area where it was mined in Xinjiang was conquered by the Chinese. As the material was popular at the Qing Court during the second half of the 18th century and into the early 19th century, large quantities of the stone were sent as tributes to the Court, with the best stones reserved for imperial use. While is it more common to see smaller works of art made of aquamarine, such as snuff bottles or smaller seals, it is extremely rare to find a work of art, like the present seal, utilizing aquamarine of such large quantity and fine quality. The generous proportions appear to deliberately reveal the depth of the clear and almost flawless sea-blue color of the stone.
The motif of a smaller dragon climbing towards a larger one seen on the finial of the present seal symbolizes cang long jiao zi (‘ weathered dragon instructing its child’), or jiao zi sheng tian (‘instructing a child how to soar’), both alluding to the succession of power from Emperor to Prince or from father to son, which is well-represented in Qing-dynasty works of art and paintings. It indicates the importance vested in the passing of knowledge from father to son and in anticipating the transfer of the mandate of heaven, which was a favorite theme of the Qianlong emperor.
For examples of related seals, see a green jade square seal carved with a finial in the form of one large chilong and two cubs and the seal face carved with Qianlong yulan zhi bao (‘for the appreciation of Qianlong’), sold at Sotheby’s New York, 16-17 March 1984, lot 261, thence in the collection of the Cathay Art Museum, Taipei, and sold again at Yu Jen Taipei, 26 June 2010, lot 127. Another imperial spinach jade seal with a finial in the form of one large chilong and two cubs and the seal face carved with you ri zi zi (‘still diligent everyday’), was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 October 2008, lot 2008.
The use of aquamarine for works of art greatly increased after 1759, when the area where it was mined in Xinjiang was conquered by the Chinese. As the material was popular at the Qing Court during the second half of the 18th century and into the early 19th century, large quantities of the stone were sent as tributes to the Court, with the best stones reserved for imperial use. While is it more common to see smaller works of art made of aquamarine, such as snuff bottles or smaller seals, it is extremely rare to find a work of art, like the present seal, utilizing aquamarine of such large quantity and fine quality. The generous proportions appear to deliberately reveal the depth of the clear and almost flawless sea-blue color of the stone.
The motif of a smaller dragon climbing towards a larger one seen on the finial of the present seal symbolizes cang long jiao zi (‘ weathered dragon instructing its child’), or jiao zi sheng tian (‘instructing a child how to soar’), both alluding to the succession of power from Emperor to Prince or from father to son, which is well-represented in Qing-dynasty works of art and paintings. It indicates the importance vested in the passing of knowledge from father to son and in anticipating the transfer of the mandate of heaven, which was a favorite theme of the Qianlong emperor.
For examples of related seals, see a green jade square seal carved with a finial in the form of one large chilong and two cubs and the seal face carved with Qianlong yulan zhi bao (‘for the appreciation of Qianlong’), sold at Sotheby’s New York, 16-17 March 1984, lot 261, thence in the collection of the Cathay Art Museum, Taipei, and sold again at Yu Jen Taipei, 26 June 2010, lot 127. Another imperial spinach jade seal with a finial in the form of one large chilong and two cubs and the seal face carved with you ri zi zi (‘still diligent everyday’), was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 October 2008, lot 2008.