Lot 40. A rare carved and imperially inscribed pale celadon jade table screen, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate £30,000 – £50,000 ($43,380 - $72,300). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

The front is intricately carved with a mountainous landscape scene, featuring small houses and pagodas amidst tall pine and wutong trees, below gilt-decorated clouds and two cranes in flight. The reserve is delicately inscribed and gilt with a long poetic inscription, ending with two seals reading Qian and long respectively, all surrounded by a stylised key-fret border. The stone is of a pale celadon tone with attractive honey russet inclusions. 9 5/8 in. (24.5 cm.) wide

Note: The poem was composed by the Qianlong emperor to eulogise the beauty and tranquility of the Qixia Mountain and the Qixia temple located in Nanjing, and is published in Qing Gaozong Yuzhi Shiwen Quanji (5), vol. 3, juan 23, The National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1976. The emperor encountered the idyllic scenery with tall peaks and streams when he passed through the mountain during his famous Southern Inspections.

Poem recorded in Qing Gaozong Yuzhi Shiwen Quanji (5), vol. 3, juan 23, The National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1976.

Christie's. INSPIRED THEMES: A FINE SELECTION OF CHINESE WORKS OF ART, 10 May 2016, London, King Street