QIANLONG INCISED FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

A RARE AND FINELY CARVED WHITE JADE PLAQUE
QIANLONG INCISED FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)
The plaque is intricately carved and pierced with the characters chang yi zi sun, 'eternal benefits for future generations', flanked by two mythical beasts with humanoid heads and archaistic phoenixes. One narrow side of the circular disc is inscribed with the characters Qianlong nian zhi, 'made during the reign of Qianlong'. The other side is inscribed with Mo zi yi bai qi shi wu hao, 'the character mo, from the series numbered one hundred and seventy five'. The stone is of an even pale tone.
5 in. (12.7 cm.) long

Provenance

A French private collection, acquired prior to the 1950s
Sold at Christie's London, 10 November 2015, lot 109

Brought to you by

Priscilla Kong

pkong@christies.com +852 2978 9958

Lot Essay

The current lot belongs to an existing group of related jade plaques which imitate Han dynasty examples of this shape, either with the characters, yi zi sun, 'For the benefit of sons and grandsons', or yi shou, 'For the benefit of Longevity'. An Eastern Han plaque inscribed with the yi shou characters is in the Palace Museum in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadewares (I), Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 258-259, no. 216.

Compare this lot to an example from the Oscar Raphael Collection in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, inscribed with Liangzi Yibai liushiba hao, 'the character Liang, from the series numbered one hundred and sixty eight', illustrated by James C.S. Lin in Arts of Asia, May-June 2010, p. 114. no. 14. Also see another plaque in the Palace Museum in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadewares (III), p. 158, no. 127, inscribed with Fuzi yibai bashiba hao, 'The character Fu, from the series numbered one hundred and eighty eight'.

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