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Lot Essay
Chimestones are considered as one of the most ancient musical instrument in China. The inverted V-shape probably became the standard form under the Zhou dynasty. See a hardstone prototype from Shang dynasty engraved with a tiger excavated in 1950 from the great tomb at Wuguan, Anyang, illustrated in S. Howard Hansford, Chinese Carved Jades, London, 1968, pl.4.
The archaistic taste of Qianlong and his desire to follow Confucian traditions regarding ritual music encouraged him to order various sets of jade chimestones to be used in Court ceremonies. John R. Finlay in his article 'Qianlong Imperial Jades in the Norton Museum of Art', The Chinese Collection, Selected Works from the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 2003, p.59 notes that 'the proper performance of music on instruments sanctionned by the authority of ancient tradition helped establish the legitimacy of the Manchu Qing dynasty.'
Qing court protocol referred to two different types of chimestones' sets : sets of sixteen stones (bianqing) and sets of twelve individual stones (teping). The present stone belongs to the second category. It is inscribed in zhuanshu script : one side is bearing a poem and the reverse indicates first the number of the stone (n.12) and its musical note (yinzhong), then the date of the poem (xinsi year (1761) of Qianlong's reign) and the date of its engraving on the present chime (guimao year (1783) of Qianlong's reign).
Each teping corresponds to a month of the lunar calendar and was played at the appropriate time of the year. While the inscriptions are engraved on the jade and filled in with gold lacquer, the dragons pursuing the flaming jewel are painted in slightly raised lines of gold lacquer.
Compare with two very similar chimes with the same inscriptions, although of larger size, in The Norton Museum of Art, Florida, and illustrated in The Chinese Collection, selected works from the Norton Museum of Art, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 2003, p. 220-221, fig. 91-92.
At least four sets of individual chimestones (teping) comparable to the examples from the Norton Museum of Art and to the present chime were made in 1783. Two complete sets of teping remain in China, one in the Forbidden City and the other one in the Qing Imperial Palace in Shenyang.
The archaistic taste of Qianlong and his desire to follow Confucian traditions regarding ritual music encouraged him to order various sets of jade chimestones to be used in Court ceremonies. John R. Finlay in his article 'Qianlong Imperial Jades in the Norton Museum of Art', The Chinese Collection, Selected Works from the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 2003, p.59 notes that 'the proper performance of music on instruments sanctionned by the authority of ancient tradition helped establish the legitimacy of the Manchu Qing dynasty.'
Qing court protocol referred to two different types of chimestones' sets : sets of sixteen stones (bianqing) and sets of twelve individual stones (teping). The present stone belongs to the second category. It is inscribed in zhuanshu script : one side is bearing a poem and the reverse indicates first the number of the stone (n.12) and its musical note (yinzhong), then the date of the poem (xinsi year (1761) of Qianlong's reign) and the date of its engraving on the present chime (guimao year (1783) of Qianlong's reign).
Each teping corresponds to a month of the lunar calendar and was played at the appropriate time of the year. While the inscriptions are engraved on the jade and filled in with gold lacquer, the dragons pursuing the flaming jewel are painted in slightly raised lines of gold lacquer.
Compare with two very similar chimes with the same inscriptions, although of larger size, in The Norton Museum of Art, Florida, and illustrated in The Chinese Collection, selected works from the Norton Museum of Art, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 2003, p. 220-221, fig. 91-92.
At least four sets of individual chimestones (teping) comparable to the examples from the Norton Museum of Art and to the present chime were made in 1783. Two complete sets of teping remain in China, one in the Forbidden City and the other one in the Qing Imperial Palace in Shenyang.