Page 98 - Sotheby's Qianlong Calligraphy Oct. 3, 2018

fig. 3
A set of sixteen Qianlong princely seals, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng period
Image Courtesy of Palace Museum, Beijing
圖三
清雍正 寶親王組壐十六方
圖片鳴謝：北京故宮博物院

Another strength of these seals is the value of the materials still a prince and was the studio in which he would spend
from which they were made, including top quality tianhuang time studying and was a place where he could find peace and
and steatite stones; pure and smooth, brilliant and solitude. What is more significant is that Qianlong so liked this
transparent, because they are not engraved and free of name, that he created Suianshi studios in the Five Gardens
decoration, the brilliant colours of the stones really shine on the Three Mountains (the three mountains around Beijing,
through. Although they are a little different in shape from the Xiangshan, Yuquanshan and Wanshoushan) as well as in
set of three Qianlong seals Puyi took with him in his flight from various travelling palaces, for example, in the Western Garden,
the Imperial Palace (fig. 6), they were likewise carved in a the Yuanmingyuan, and the Qingyiyuan (all in Beijing). In this
standard rectangular or oval form which wasted a lot of the way, and using Qianlong’s own nostalgic words, he could be
stone in the carving process, thus displaying the extravagance constantly reminded of his youthful life and never forget the
of the imperial family. past. Since the present seal was made during the time he was
Crown Prince, it was the first such seal, made for use in the
Made from the best stones, with masterful craftsmanship, original Suianshi studio. This seal, together with Bao Qinwang
this can be considered a representative work of art from the
Qianlong Emperor’s princely period. bao and Changchun Jushi seals were very often used on
works of art during the time he was Prince (fig. 5).
A. Bao Qingwang bao
C. Changchun Jushi
This seal is carved from a Shoushan (Fujian province)
tianhuang dong (literally: ‘cold’) stone, its apex is multi- This seal is carved from Changhua (Zhejiang province)
facetted and its body glossy and plain. steatite dong stone. Its apex is multi-facetted and its body
glossy and plain.
In the first month of the 11th year of the Yongzheng reign, he
announced that his fourth son was to become Crown Prince. Changchun Jushi was the designation the Yongzheng
From then on, Qianlong began to participate in political affairs. Emperor gave to Qianlong while he was still a Prince. The
This seal was made in that same year and was thus used Yongzheng Emperor was highly influenced by Buddhist
mainly in the period between his appointment as Crown Prince teachings and in the 11th year of his reign he assembled
and when he ascended the throne a year later (figs 2 and 5). fourteen ‘disciples’, of which Qianlong was one, into a meeting
and personally preached the law to them; it was then that he
B. Suianshi first called Qianlong Changchun Jushi. It was in that year that
This seal is carved from a Shoushan (Fujian province) this seal was made. Qianlong attached great importance to
tianhuang dong stone, of oval section, it has a flattened apex the designation Changchun and the numerous Changchun
which is left undecorated. shuwu (libraries) all obtained their names from this by-name.
This seal and the Bao Qingwang bao seal were both very often
Suianshi is the name of one of Qianlong’s studies. The earliest used by Qianlong before he ascended the throne (figs 2
Suianshi studio dates back to the time when Qianlong was and 5).

96 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比