Lot 104. A pair of famille-rose ministers of the treasury, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate 300,000 — 500,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's 

each modelled as the 'Minister of the Treasury' of the qizhengbao or qizhen ('Seven Royal Treasures'), depicted seated in sukhsana on a voluminous pile of garment detailed with cloud scrolls, the figure portrayed extending his elbows outward and holding a flaming motif in his right hand, the left hand held in vitarkamudra, the serene countenance picked out with rosy cheeks and pursed lips, framed by long pendulous earlobes and a five-leaf habit with a pair of long billowing yellow ribbons, dressed in loose pale turquoise robes flaring upward near the elbows, further adorned with a gilt-decorated iron-red scarf prominently billowing over the shoulders and fluttering outward near the base, the base pierced with three (one infilled) apertures - 11.8 cm, 4 5/8  in..

Notes: Intricately modelled as emblems for altar ornaments raised on stands, the present pair of Ministers of the Treasury represents one of the Seven Royal Treasures (qizhengbao or qizhen). For a detailed discussion of the Seven Royal Treasures, see a pair of famille-rose ‘flaming pearl’ altar ornaments to be offered in this sale, lot 106. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art: The Collection of a Parisian Connoisseur, Part III. Hong Kong, 05 oct. 2016, 11:30 AM