An important large Imperial white jade 'zhoujia yanxi zhi bao' seal, Qing dynasty, Jiaqing period. Estimate 30,000,000 — 40,000,000 HKD (3,501,575 - 4,668,766 EUR). Photo Sotheby's

of large square form, surmounted by a superbly carved pair of dragons, each powerfully carved with eyes bulging and nostrils flaring above curling whiskers and a jaw 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 zhoujia yanxi zhi bao ('Treasure of extended celebration of the sixtieth birthday'), the stone of an even milky-white colour with natural opaque inclusions - 9.4 by 9.6 by 9.6 cm., 3 5/8  by 3 3/4  by 3 3/4  in.

Provenance: A private French collection, acquired in the late 19th century, and thence by descent.
Christie's Hong Kong, 30th May 2005, lot 1235.

The Jiaqing Emperor’s Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao Seal
Guo Fuxiang

The recurrence of a particular seal inscription across the imperial seals of a Qing Emperor directly reflected his ideas, interests, and experiences. For example, the Qianlong Emperor had as many as 42 seals reading Guxi tianzi (Son of Heaven at Seventy) and Guxi tianzi zhi bao (Treasure of the Son of Heaven At Age Seventy), 24 reading Youri zizi (Still Diligent Every Day), 63 reading Bazhengmao nian (Eighty-Year-Old Man Mindful of the Eighth Principle) and Bazhengmao nian zhi bao(Treasure of the Eighty-Year-Old Man Mindful of the Eighth Principle), 45 reading Ziqiang buxi (Self-Strengthening Never Ceases), 13 reading Shiquan laoren (‘The Old Man with a Perfect Military Record') and Shiquan laoren zhi bao(‘Treasure of the Old Man with a Perfect Military Record'), 20 reading Taishang huangdi (Emperor Emeritus) and Taishang huangdi zhibao (Treasure of Emperor Emeritus).1 These seals give us a sense of the illustrious life of this cultivated emperor. The son of the Qianlong Emperor, the Jiaqing Emperor, followed in his father’s footsteps, commissioning many seals with the same inscriptions, particularly a dozen or so or seals reading Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao (Seal of Continual Joy on the Sixtieth Birthday), including the current.

The present seal is carved from celadon jade and surmounted by a pair of addorsed dragons. The seal face is incised with the characters Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao ('Seal of continual joy on the sixtieth birthday'). The seal is consistent in size, text and calligraphic style with one documented and illustrated in the Jiaqing Baosou, the Jiaqing Emperor’s imperial seal catalogue—including fine details like the slight curvature of the rectangular frame, the variation in stroke width among the characters, and the slight hesitation at the beginnings and ends of the strokes. The attached yellow tassel and the precise manner in which it is attached to the seal are consistent with other large-scaled Qing imperial seals.

Impression from the Jiaqing Baoshou

The Jiaqing Emperor’s personal name was Yongyan. The fifth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty to rule over China, he ascended the throne at the age of 36. In 1819, he celebrated his 60th birthday, a particularly important birthday according to the Chinese sexagenary cycle. But the modest Jiaqing Emperor instructed officials across his realm a year beforehand that there would be no large-scale celebrations and forbade them from sending extravagant gifts beyond the standard local tributes.2 He commemorated his birthday in two more private ways. Firstly, he commissioned seals reading Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao. According to the Baosou, he had a dozen of such seals produced in various sizes with this inscription, which he impressed on imperial texts most frequently. In addition, he commemorated the occasion by hosting a tea gathering the New Year’s Day of the following year for court officials, who composed poetic couplets on the phrase Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao, as well as the Jiaqing Emperor’s experiences and philosophy.3 This seal text was thus of special significance to the emperor , who regarded it as a marker of an important stage of his life. Among the seals with this inscription, the lot on offer is one of the larger and more impressive.

The story behind this seal illustrates the fascinating relationship between the Emperor and his father, the Qianlong Emperor. Unlike most other emperors, he did not become the true ruler after ascending the throne; the Qianlong Emperor still wielded ultimate authority as Emperor Emeritus. Qianlong-period court customs and rituals likewise persisted into the Jiaqing reign, including the creation of seal sets. The Qianlong Emperor had a considerable number of sets of three seals made, typically including one official palace seal and two seals with poetic phrases explaining the name of the palace in question. The Jiaqing Emperor followed his father in creating some 70 such seal sets. Another example is his Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao seals and the accompanying secondary seals reading Zhuangjing riqiang ('self-strengthening through respectful solemnity') and Jianxing buxi ('constantly invigorate oneself'). Just as the Qianlong created such three-seal sets—with a formal primary seal and two secondary seals with self-admonitions—on his 70th and 80th birthdays, the Jiaqing Emperor accompanied his Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao seals with the admonitory seals of Zhuangjing riqiang and Jianxing buxi ('constantly invigorate oneself').4 Evidently, the Jiaqing Emperor consciously imitated his father’s behaviour.

The records of the Imperial Workshops provide information about the creation of this seal. An entry dated to the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of the twenty-third year of the Jiaqing reign (1818) refers to seals for which the materials, container and groupings precisely match the various Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao seals and seal sets, including the current lot.5 (Although this entry does not record the seal inscriptions, the seals are illustrated at the end of the Baosou.) The entry further indicates that the inscriptions of the Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao seals were carved in the Suzhou Imperial Manufactory around the eleventh or twelfth month of the twenty-third year of the Jiaqing reign. The emperor requested that the carving be fine and deep, that the seals be housed in luxurious boxes, and that they be sent to Beijing before the New Year. This left the Suzhou craftsmen with only a month to complete the seals, which explains the occasional rigidity of the carving.

The Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao and associated seals were some of the last seals the Jiaqing Emperor made in his life. He impressed them on his own late calligraphies and paintings, typically using Zhuangjing riqiang as a frontispiece and Zhoujia yanxi zhi bao and Jianxing buxi at the lower corners. The lot on offer is sizable and thus was impressed on its own on works of art.

1 Guo Fuxiang, Ming Qing di hou xiyin [Imperial seals of the Ming and Qing dynasties], Beijing, 2003, p. 154.
2 Da Qing Renzong Ruihuangdi shilu [Veritable records of the Jiaqing period, Qing dynasty], vol. 339, second month of the twenty-third year of the Jiaqing reign.
3 Da Qing Renzong Ruihuangdi shilu, vol. 366, first month of the twenty-fifth year of the Jiaqing reign.
4 Chen Kangqi [Qing Dynasty], Langqian jiwen sanbi [Miscellaneous notes of a retired official 3], vol. 2, Beijing, 1984.
5 Entry on dangfang xingwen dated to the eleventh month of the twenty-third year of the Jiaqing reign, Zaobanchu gezuo huojidang [Records of the Imperial Workshops] in Chinese First Historical Archive.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 07 oct. 2015, 02:30 PM