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A RARE IMPERIAL ROCK CRYSTAL Fuxiang, ‘Fengzailongshang - Cixi taihou de baoxi ૶ ฉᐤ˄Χ੿ᘒ˥౺ᎉ๿ᖕඐ˙ᖗ
‘JIANKONG HENGPING’ SEAL [Phoenix above the dragon - imperial seals of the
Empress Dowager Cixi]’, Forbidden City, 2011.10, ᖗ˖j
QING DYNASTY, SEAL OF p. 69. This established practice makes it likely ᛠ٤ፅ̻
EMPRESS DOWAGER CIXI that the present seal belongs to the same group Ը๕
as the example cited in the Palace Museum,
of square section, the translucent stone ᅃᆪ೙ 1842 1913 אဏॶ࣬ 1854 1925 ϗ
Beijing (op. cit.). This conclusion can further be
surmounted by a well-carved mythical beast ᔛdϤܝ࢕ૄෂו
supported through matching the seal impression
crouching on its powerful claws, the horned
of the present lot with the same impressions
creature rendered with protruding eyes above a
found on existing Cixi paintings.
slightly upturned snout, its mouth agape revealing
sharp fangs, ! anked by a pair of long curling A comprehensive survey of imperial seals
whiskers, the top of its scaly body detailed with a reveals that the Empress Dowager Cixi owned
well-pronounced spine, terminating in a bushy tail a comparatively larger number of precious
swept against its left haunch, the seal face crisply seals – perhaps as it was known she “held court
incised in zhuwen style with four characters behind the screen” and e$ ectively controlled the
reading Jiankong hengping (to maintain fairness Qing imperial government for some 48 years.
and balance) During her reign, even though Chinese society
Height 2⅜ in., 6.1 cm; Width 2⅞ in., 7.3 cm; was thrown into turmoil drastically weakening
Depth 2⅞ in., 7.3 cm governmental authority, the Empress Dowager
commissioned work from the imperial workshops
PROVENANCE
and demanded they be on display to enhance
Collection of Gustav Detring (1842-1913) or her image as ruler in China. Imperial seals, such
Constantin von Hanneken (1854-1925), and as the present example, re! ected prestige and
thence by descent. power and even though the craftsmanship of her
seals seems to exhibit a slight decline in quality
This rare rock crystal seal is well carved in relief
with four characters reading Jiankong hengping, commensurate with dynastic deterioration,
it is clear from the number of seals produced
which can be translated as ‘to maintain fairness
during the period that Dowager Empress Cixi
and balance’. A seal of a smaller size but with the
was determined to maintain traditional imperial
same four characters, in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, is recorded in the imperial seal catalogue standards.
of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and its impression
$ 40,000-60,000
is published in Gugong bowuyuan cang qingdai
dihou xiyin pu Cixi juan [catalogue of imperial
seals of the Qing dynasty. Cixi section], vol. 12,
Beijing, 2005, p. 33 ( g. 1). During the Qing
dynasty, it was common practice for emperors
to order multiple imperial seals to be made with
the same face characters. Guo Fuxiang has noted
that sometimes as many as ten seals with the
same characters were made for Cixi, see Guo

Fig. 1 Seal impression of a ‘Jiankong hengping’
seal in the Palace Museum, Beijing
After: Gugong bowuyuan cang qingdai dihou
xiyin pu Cixi juan [catalogue of imperial seals of
the Qing dynasty. Cixi section], vol. 12, Beijing,
2005, p. 33
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̅12d̏ԯd2005ϋdࠫ33

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