Lot 3661. An imperial edict, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 475 by 31 cm., 187 by 12 in. Estimate 100,000 — 150,000 HKD. Lot Sold 125,000 HKD (12,748 EUR). Photo Sotheby’s

mounted on paper, written on a silk brocade woven with a neatly arranged pattern of cranes and ruyi-shaped clouds, the text arranged in standard form reading from right to left in kaishu and repeated in Manchu script reading from left to right, the frontispiece with a four-character seal-script inscription flanked by a pair of five-clawed dragons reading Fengtian gaomin ('By the Command of Heaven'), the calligraphy concluding with two seal impressions and dated to the 42nd year of Kangxi, corresponding to 1703.

Provenance: Acquired by a British diplomat when living in China during 1920s-1950s.
Christie's Hong Kong, 30th November 2011, lot 3277.

Sotheby’s. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 08 october 2014