QIANLONG INCISED FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

One narrow side of the disc is incised with the characters, Qianlong Nianzhi, 'Made in the Qianlong Year', and the other side is inscribed with Xuzi yibai yishijiu hao, 'The character Xu, from a series numbered one hundred and nineteen'.

A large majority of archaistic jades from the Qianlong period were in essence carved in imitation of jades from the earlier Han dynasty, and many pieces that were produced in the Qianlong reign were slightly modified to suit the prevailing taste of the Emperor. The current example is of no exception. The present plaque replicates Han dynasty examples of this same shape either with the characters, Yizisun, 'For the benefit of sons and grandsons', or Yishou, 'For the benefit of Longevity'. Compare with an Eastern Han plaque inscribed with the Yishou characters in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Jadewares (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commerical Press, Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 258-259, no. 216.