A CHINESE PALE CELADON JADE SEAL

QIANLONG/JIAQING

The square-section seal surmounted by a qilin, the mythical beast reclines with its front legs crossed and its head turned back with its mouth agape, with finely incised hairs to its mane, beard and tail, with a seal mark to the underside reading chen Wei Gang yin, the stone with white striations and inclusions, 5.2cm.

Provenance: from an English private collection formed in the 1950s.

Cf. H K F Hui, T Y Pang and C Yeung, Virtuous Treasure: Chinese Jade for the Scholar's Table, p.212, no.136 for a related square seal with a Buddhist lion; see also T Fok, The Splendour of Jade: The Songzhutang Collection of Jade, p.132, no.112 for another comparable seal carved with a mythical animal.