Page 282 - Bonhams May 12 16 London

278 Ruyi sceptres were highly regarded gifts by the Qianlong emperor.
A RARE QIANGJIN AND TIANQI LACQUER RUYI SCEPTRE Crowned by a heart-shaped end that resembled the curling growth of
Incised Qianlong six-character mark and of the period a lingzhi fungus, these sceptres were thought to bring good fortune
Finely decorated in qiangjin and tianqi technique reserved on a brown to their owners. According to the ‘The Divine Farmer’s Classic of
lacquer ground, the head with a phoenix grasping a peony amidst Pharmaceutics’, Shennong bencao jing (神農本草經), compiled during
swirling clouds, the wide mid-section and end of the shaft decorated the Han dynasty, lingzhi bestowed immortality to whomever ate them.
with four of the Eight Buddhist Emblems encircled by lotus scrolls, the Another Han source, the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’, Shanhai
narrow shaft decorated with further blooming lotus, all picked out in Jing (山海經), refers to the phoenix as embodiment of the Queen’s
blue, red and green within gold-filled incised lines. attributes of benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom. It
40cm (15 2/3in) long is possible, therefore that the ruyi sceptre may have been gifted to
the empress or a high-ranking member of the court. Ruyi sceptres
£4,000 - 6,000 CNY37,000 - 55,000 were made in a variety of materials including wood, bamboo, ivory,
HK$44,000 - 66,000 cloisonné enamel, jade and coral. Lacquer examples, such as the
present one, however, are rare. For polychrome lacquer wares bearing
清乾隆 戧金填漆番蓮八吉祥紋如意 the mark of the Qianlong emperor preserved in the collection of the
「大清乾隆年製」楷書款 Palace Museum, Beijing, see The Complete Collection of Treasures
from the Palace Museum: Lacquer wares of the Qing Dynasty,
Shanghai, 2006, p.125, fig.89.

280 | BONHAMS