Page 345 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013

Ruyi sceptres reached their artistic zenith as a result of the Qianlong
Emperor’s official request for ruyi sceptres to be presented by courtiers
on Imperial birthdays and New Year celebrations; see E.R.Rawsky and
J.Rawson, eds., China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795, London, 2005,
pl.282. The sceptre conveyed wishes of longevity as symbolised in the
lingzhi fungus-shaped head, in the subject of the Eight Immortals, and in
the meaning of ruyi ‘as you wish’, thus making it an appropriate present
on the event of an Imperial birthday and the beginning of a New Year.

The Qing Dynasty Imperial interest in precious objects, including ruyi
sceptres, is well illustrated in a white jade ruyi sceptre depicted in the
Guwan tu scroll (Pictures of Ancient Playthings), scroll no.6, 1728, by
anonymous Court artists, in the Percival David Foundation, London; see
E.R. Rawsky and J. Rawson, eds., op.cit., Catalogue no.168.

The present ruyi sceptre is a particularly refined example of Qing Dynasty
craftsmanship combining the skill of the silversmith with champlevé
enamel. The quality and technically complex nature of this work of art
would strongly suggest that it was a special commission, and indeed
possibly an Imperial tribute from Guangzhou to the Qing Court.

A very similar silver filigree and enamel ruyi sceptre, attributed to the
Qianlong period, illustrated by J.Getz, Avery Collection of Ancient Chinese
Cloisonnés, Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences,
Brooklyn, New York, 1912, pp.65-66, Catalogue no.126 (see fig.1
opposite).

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