Page 76 - Marchant Ninety Jades For 90 Years

三 37. Pendant carved in relief with a standing dragon-headed figure holding a flaming pearl in his right hand, wearing long flowing robes
十 revealing the tips of his shoes, all within a framed roundel, beneath a pierced ruyi-head-shaped support, carved with highly stylised
七 archaic confronting dragons, the reverse with a similarly framed roundel carved with the high relief character chen, the stone pure white.

3 inches, 7.6 cm long.
辰 Qianlong, 1736-1795.
龍 Fitted box.
牌

白 • From the personal collection of Edward T. Chow, (1910-1980).
玉 • This pendant is part of a set of twelve forming the sexagenary cycle: six of this shape

and six of bell form, encircling a central large disc, one side carved with the ten

乾 characters of tianzhi, the reverse with the eight trigrams. This set, when read together
隆 (a pendant and one of the tianzhi) forms the sixty-year cycle, each figure is symbolic of

the twelve-year cycle and represents a year. The twelve outside characters are also used

Edward T. Chow to represent the time of day.

• A similar complete set, in the Qing Court collection, is illustrated by Zhang Guang

Wen in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (II), no. 77,

pp. 108/9; a related set, called shi er lü, also in the Qing Court Collection, representing

the twelve months, seasons and twelve notes of the Chinese chromatic scale, with

先 flowers and inscriptions, is illustrated by Zhang Guang Wen in The Complete Collection
生 of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (III), Vol 42, no. 20, pp. 25/6; another set of
舊 twelve pendants, six of similar form and six of axe form, each carved on one side with an
藏 animal of the zodiac, is illustrated by Zhao Gui Ling in Compendium of Collections in the

Palace Museum, Jade, Vol. 9, Qing Dynasty, Gu Gong Inventory no. Gu 90914, no. 258,

p. 254/5.

• When separated, these pendants were worn suspended from the belt.

• It has been suggested that this piece forms part of a set specifically made for the Emperor

Qianlong’s 60th birthday, corresponding to 1771.

74