18TH CENTURY

Details

A VERY RARE SMALL RETICULATED IVORY SEAL
18TH CENTURY
Of square section, the top part well-hollowed and surmounted by a cover delicately carved with a coiled chilong all above a thin band anclosing archaistic chilong and a wider band of open-work with interlocking C-scrolls, to one side a three-character inscription reading ? cun zuo, the face carved with four characters reading xiang nan li yin
1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) high

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

The four-character inscription to the face of the seal may be translated as 'retirement from official duties in Xiangnan'.

Compare a rare ivory seal box enclosing two ivory seals, sold in our New York rooms, Selections from the Robert H. Blumenfield Collection, 25 March 2010, lot 935, with similarly carved chilongs. For further examples of interlocking openwork, see two ivory double gourd-shaped perfumers in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 44 - Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, pp.211-3, nos. 174 and 175.

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