19TH CENTURY

Details

A JADEITE AND RUBY-INSET GILT-BRONZE RUYI SCEPTER
19TH CENTURY
The lingzhi-shaped head inlaid with a lotus plant, with mottled green and white jadeite leaves and ruby blossoms and bud, the curved gilt-bronze shaft crisply cast with the Eight Buddhist Emblems (bajixiang), all ribbon-tied and separated by a lotus spray, with a loop at the tip
11¼ in. (31.1 cm.) long, box

Provenance

Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University.

Lot Essay

This ruyi scepter belongs to a group which employed colorful hardstone inlay and gilt-metal to create a lush, rich effect. Several scepters of this type are illustrated in Masterpieces of Chinese Ju-i Scepters in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1974, nos. 36, 40 and 42, as well as 21, which has a gilded redwood body. Numbers 40 and 42, especially, have carved gemstones representing various auspicious fruits and flowers, similar to the present example.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics, Jades and Works of Art

View All