A rare and large green jade mountain with an imperial poem. Qing dynasty, Qianlong period.  Photo Sotheby's

the stone of a forest-green colour with black and white mottling, carved on one side with a pair of high-relief chicks perched upon a rocky hill amidst pine and paulownia trees, incised on the rock face with a poetic inscription, the reverse with gnarled pine trees growing on jagged ledges above a deep ravine, the mountain crags skilfully carved utilising the natural flaws in the stone; 26.3 cm., 10 3/8 in. Estimate 2,000,000—3,000,000 HKD. Lot Sold 3,140,000 HKD (402,564 USD) to an Asian Private

NOTE: The inscription can be translated as follows:

As I copy Li's paintaing of 'Chicks Waiting to be Nurtured',
My heart feels deep concern.
I surmise that the harvest has failed,
Who among the little ones is facing starvation?
In truth I alone am deeply appalled,
All the bureaucrats aspire to 'official concern',
My son makes eulogies in praise of millet.
In audience each sticks carefully to his own brief.

The depiction of two chicks is inspired by the famous painting Chickens Waiting for Feeding, signed and dated 1197, by Li Di (active 1163-1197), which is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Flower, Bird and Animal Paintings of the Jin, Tang and Song Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2004, pl. 17. Li Di was a court painter in the Imperial Painting Academy of the Southern Song dynasty whose work was especially favoured by the Qianlong emperor. A copy of the Song painting, signed Hongli (the Qianlong emperor) and dated 1788, and a new version of poem were also transferred to stone so that multiple copies could be printed and distributed to the provincial governors. A zitan screen inlaid with a similar scene and carved inscription of a poem by the Qianlong emperor, dated to mid-autumn of the wushen year (corresponding to 1788) was offered in these rooms, 23^rd October 2005, lot 386.

This poem expresses Qianlong's worries and concern for his subjects. Towards the end of his reign the emperor was faced with several problems, including the dramatically increased population of China, potential crop failure and famine in the country, an increasingly self-interested bureaucracy, and his uncertainty at his son's ability to reign effectively after his abdication.

Sotheby's. Vestiges from China's Imperial History, 08 Apr 11, Hong Kong www.sothebys.com