Page 44 - Bonhams Chinese Art March 2016 New York

8062
A FINE PALE GREEN JADE RUYI SCEPTER
18th/19th century
Crisply carved from a single piece of even-toned pale green stone, the lobed head carved in
low relief with five bats in flight, two biting a peach spray, two biting a lingzhi spray and the
topmost suspending a tasseled shou character, the shaft elegantly curving and carved with
rockwork issuing a spray of fruiting peach and a cluster of bamboo, the lobed end decorated
with slender-leaved orchid and lingzhi fungus, the concave underside smoothly carved and all
polished to a soft gleam.
14 3/4in (37.5cm) long
$10,000 - 15,000
十八或十九世紀 青玉雕五福螭龍靈芝紋如意柄
The generous size, exquisitely crisp carving and fine, even stone suggest that the present
lot was a very lavish commission, intended to delight the most demanding of connoisseurs.
Although a number of ruyi scepters of this type are published in museum and private
collections, the present example appears to be highly unusual in is depiction of orchid and
lingzhi fungus on the tip, and the imaginative details of the peach and lingzhi fungus held by
the bats encircling the shou character. Such playfulness on a common theme and attention to
detail suggest a high degree of skill and expenditure devoted to this ruyi scepter.
A related pale green jade ruyi scepter, dated to the 18th century and also with a shou character
enclosed within a lobed cartouche as the head, is currently on display at The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, accession number 02.18.446, the gift of Heber R. Bishop in 1902.
This ruyi scepter bears an inscription dedicating it to the Emperor with wishes for longevity from
a servant, illustrating the court practice for wealthy courtiers to present ruyi scepters to the
Emperor on his birthday, who was known to appreciate such symbols of long life.

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