A massive imperial khotan-green jade "Tian-en ba xun zhi bao" seal. Qing dynasty, Qianlong period

of large square form, surmounted by a superbly carved pair of addorsed dragons, each powerfully carved with eyes bulging and nostrils flaring above curling whiskers and jaws bearing sharp fangs, the scales and flowing mane meticulously incised, the two scaly bodies tightly intertwined and crouching on the haunches, pierced through the centre with an aperture, the square seal deeply and crisply carved with the characters Tian en ba xun zhi bao ('Treasure of the Emperor at Eighty Thanks to Heaven's Blessing'), the stone of a deep fern-green tone with natural veining - 12.7 by 12.7 cm., 5 by 5 in - Estimate Upon Request

PROVENANCE : Removed from the Shouhuangdian (Hall of Imperial Longevity), Beijing, 1900.
Acquired from the Meley Collection in Paris.

NOTE : Emperor Qianlong was eighty years old in the fifty-fifth year of his reign [1790]. He had said on many different occasions that "After the Three Dynasties of remote antiquity, only the three emperors Wudi of the Liang, Gaozong of the Song, and Shizu of the Yuan lived to over eighty but none of these managed to have five generations living under the same roof. I so enjoy Heaven's protection and all its blessings, for which I am profoundly grateful." "Fortunately I have lived as long as eighty years, and since my health remains sound, I can still fulfill my desire to perform secondary sacrificial rituals entirely by myself. In the second month this year I personally performed all the dawn ritual ceremony at the Temple of the Sun. Being so blessed by Heaven is truly unique."

Emperor Qianlong considered it heavenly blessings that he could live till the age of eighty and had five generations living under one roof. Thus, the sentences Tian'en mude bazhixun (Showered by Heaven's blessing to have lived till the age of eighty) and Tian'en Baxun Shou (Emperor who has Reached the Age of Eighty) could be found in his poems and he had ordered the making of Tian' en Baxun zhi bao to express his feelings.

The present seal, carved with the characters Tian'en ba xun zhi bao (Treasure of the Emperor at Eighty Thanks to Heaven's Blessing) is one of Emperor Qianlong's seals made in conjunction with his eightieth birthday. The details of its making are clearly documented. According to the Neiwufu ge zuocheng zuo huoji Qingdang (Qing Archives Concerning Arts and Crafts Made in All Parts of the Imperial Household Workshops), "Fifty-fourth year of Qianlong, tenth month, nineteenth day [5 December 1789], a green jade seal was sent in with a facsimile of the inscription tian'en baxun zhi bao. The original text of the order transmitted from the Emperor states: 'Send it to Suzhou to be engraved with an inscription conforming to the impression facsimile, and have it done in all haste. By order of His Majesty.' On the fourteenth day of the twelfth month [28 January 1790], the 'Eighty Thanks to Heaven's Blessing Seal' was sent back from Suzhou and presented to the Emperor, who then ordered: 'Send it to Maoqin dian (Hall of Profuse Diligence). End of order." It is thus known that the seal was made between the tenth and the twelfth lunar months of the fifty-fourth year in the reign of the Qianlong emperor and was engraved by a Suzhou craftsman.

Sotheby's. Legacies of Imperial Power: Qianlong Imperial Seals from the Estate of Emile Guimet. 08 Oct 08. Hong Kong. www.sothebys.com