A RARE WEIGHTED SILVER DRAGON SEAL

QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)

Details

A RARE WEIGHTED SILVER DRAGON SEAL
QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)
Made with a silver casing over an extremely heavy core, the top worked in high, crisp relief with a central five-clawed full-face dragon with antler-like horns leaping amidst dense clouds as it coils its body around a flaming pearl while grasping two pearls triumphantly in its two fore claws, with ruyi-headed ribbons wrapped around the scaly body, all above pairs of smaller dragons contesting further flaming pearls on the sides, each facet of the lower body engraved with a further dragon clutching flaming pearls amidst clouds, the eyes of the primary dragon and of some of the other dragons highlighted in gilding, the base with a six-character seal, Kangxi yulan zhibao (Imperially perused by the Kangxi Emperor)
4½ in. (11.5 cm.) square, cloth bag

Provenance

Japanese Private collection.

Lot Essay

Silver dragon seals appear to be very rare. A smaller imperial silver seal with turquoise and coral inlays, dated to the Yongzheng period, was sold at Sotheby's, New York, 8 November 1980, lot 67, upon which, as with the present example there was a primary full-face dragon on top and pairs of dragons on the sides pursuing flaming pearls amidst clouds.

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