JIAQING INCISED YUSHANG SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1796-1820)

The present ink stone was made for the Qing imperial court during the mid-Qing period. The underside of the ink stone is carved with a four-character mark, Jiaqing yushang, ‘For appreciation by the Jiaqing Emperor’. However, judging from the style of carving, which is characteristic of mid-Qing, it is possible that the ink stone was carved before the Jiaqing reign. Compare the present ink stone with a nearly identical example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, collection number: Gu00134667 (fig.1).