A large white jade ruyi scepter. Qing dynasty, 18th century. Photo Sotheby's

the ruyi-shaped head finely carved with a stylized shou character surrounded by leafy vines bearing flowers and double-gourds, the middle and end of the curved flattened stem similarly decorated with double-gourds on leafy vines, the triangular tip of the stem further enhanced with a bat and pierced with a bull-nose perforation to hold a tassel, the stone of very pale greenish-white with some opaque white inclusions; with qin-shaped wood stand, wood and glass display case, and a wood box (6). Length 18 1/4 in., 46.4 cm. Estimate 150,000-200,000 USD. Lot vendu: 542,500 USD

PROVENANCE: Acquired in China in the 1950s, and thence by descent.

NOTE: A yellow ground Qianlong vase with similar decoration is illustrated in Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995, no. 95; and a similarly decorated Jiaqing vase was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5th October 2005, lot 440.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 20 mars 2012 www.sothebys.com