4193
A GOLD INGOT
PROPERTY FROM AN AMERICAN COLLECTION
A GOLD INGOT

QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY, CIRCA 1750

细节
A GOLD INGOT
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY, CIRCA 1750
It is cast as a rectangular bar with a slightly convex underside stamped twice with the characters ding yuan, the top with gently sloping sides rising to a raised edge. The centre is stamped with a double-gourd seal reading Yuanji and two seals reading bao.
3 1/8 in. (8 cm.) long
来源
The Nanking Cargo, sold at Christie's Amsterdam, 28 April 1986, lot 1850, of material salvaged by Captain Michael Hatcher from the geldermalsen, a VOC ship that sank on its homeward journey in 1752

荣誉呈献

Angela Kung
Angela Kung

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拍品专文

Often referred to as 'sycees', the shape of gold ingots such as the present lot were based on the shape of shoes worn by women in ancient China. This shoe form was considered to be auspicious and was associated with wealth, and therefore it is appropriate that these ingots should be cast in this form. Many of these gold ingots bear stamp marks, as can be seen on the present lot, and which typically reference their weight and the institution which had brought the object into circulation.

During the mid-Qing dynasty, as a result of the lucrative silk trade, large quantities of precious metals including gold and silver, entered China. It was the traders who processed these metals, and who were also responsible for testing their content and purity. However, in the 19th century, the massive influx of gold and silver coins gradually brought an end to these responsibilities.

A test on the present ingot indicates that the gold is 18K, and weighs 375 g.