.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
It has been suggested that this seal was possibly designated for the posthumous use of the Empress, Xiao Shen Xian, the mother of the Emperor Qianlong.
Further research at the Palace museum, Beijing, identifies the inscription as the posthumous title given to Daoguang's consort, Niuhu Lushi, who was from the family branch of the Subordinate Yellow Banner. Niuhu Lushi married Prince Minning (who later became emperor Daoguang) in 1796; the mother of emperor Xianfeng, she died in 1808. The honour of the title Empress Xiao Mucheng was granted posthumously when Daoguang became emperor.
A related seal carved in the Guangxu period which records the honour bestowed on Cixi, who was later known as the Dowager Empress, is illustrated in Empress Dowager Cixi:Her Art of Living, p. 23. The carving of the present lot compares closely to the seal in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Life in the Forbidden City, p.54, fig. 65 and p. 24, fig. 13.
Further research at the Palace museum, Beijing, identifies the inscription as the posthumous title given to Daoguang's consort, Niuhu Lushi, who was from the family branch of the Subordinate Yellow Banner. Niuhu Lushi married Prince Minning (who later became emperor Daoguang) in 1796; the mother of emperor Xianfeng, she died in 1808. The honour of the title Empress Xiao Mucheng was granted posthumously when Daoguang became emperor.
A related seal carved in the Guangxu period which records the honour bestowed on Cixi, who was later known as the Dowager Empress, is illustrated in Empress Dowager Cixi:Her Art of Living, p. 23. The carving of the present lot compares closely to the seal in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Life in the Forbidden City, p.54, fig. 65 and p. 24, fig. 13.