Page 159 - Bonhams FINE CHINESE ART London November 2 2021

318 Y Ф
AN IVORY AND HORN-INLAID ‘MYTHICAL BEAST’
SQUARE SEAL
Qing Dynasty
The cream-coloured material with a warm golden patina, carved on
top with a seated qilin with bulging horn-inlaid eyes, turned sharply
towards its back with gaping jaws exposing fangs and curling tongue,
the finely-incised mane extending down the the curved back to the
bushy tail sweeping across its right haunch, the seal face carved
reading ‘Ting qin si jing shuo jian shen yang’ (When listening to qin the
mind is still, when speaking of swords even the Gods scatter).
3.2cm (1 1/2in) high.
£10,000 - 15,000
CNY89,000 - 130,000
清 牙雕瑞獸鈕印
印文：聽琴思靜 說劍神揚
The seal face is carved with a line from a poem by the Tang dynasty
poet Yang Juyuan (active 8th century). See a related carved ivory seal
with a Buddhist lion and young atop a square pedestal, early 19th
century, illustrated by R.Kerr, P.Allen and Shih Ching-fei, Chinese Ivory
Carvings: The Sir Victor Sassoon Collection, London, 2016, p.144.
Compare with a related ivory seal of two mythical beasts, Qianlong,
which was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 October 2009, lot 1818.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue. FINE CHINESE ART | 157