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

Details

A RARE RETICULATED ‘CHICKEN BONE’ 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 wang zi er bai qi shi liu hao, 'the character wang, from the series numbered two hundred and seventy six’.
5 3⁄8 in. (13.7 cm.) long, box

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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, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadewares (I), Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 258-259, no. 216. It is rare to find this type of plaque from the Qianlong period made of ‘chicken bone’ jade.

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