Lot 1242. A very rare gold and silver-inlaid bronze ruler, Late Eastern Han-Six Dynasties period, 3rd century; 9 5/8 in. (24.4 cm.) long. Estimate 20,000 - USD 30,000. Price realised USD 35,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The ruler is in the shape of a right angle, with one side longer than the other, and is finely inlaid on the front in gold and silver with even measurement units defined by vertical lines incorporating three dots, each unit enclosing a phoenix and all within outer borders of tiny dots. A narrow lip that extends from the top of the longer side is finely inlaid with diaper pattern, and the reverse is gilded. There are areas of encrustation on both sides, Japanese wood box with inscription by Kayamoto Toji.

Provenance: Acquired in Japan in the early 1970s, and thence by descent within the family.

Note: During the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC) reforms were introduced to standardize currency, weights and measures. This included bronze rulers, such as the straight example illustrated in Treasures from the Han, The Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1990, p. 31 (top), which is inlaid in gold on one side with clouds. The catalogue entry notes that it is inlaid with markings on one side to indicate the length of ten cun, but only has odd-numbered fen measurements on the reverse. The cun and fen are two of the units of measurement used during the Han dynasty, which also included the chi, zhang, and yin, all of which are still used in China today, although the lengths are no longer the same as during Han times. A bronze ruler of the same right-angled shape as the present ruler, excavated in Zichang county, and dated 206 to 220 BC, is in the collection of the Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Furniture, Archaic Bronzes and Works of Art, New York, 21 - 22 March 2013