Description
A good and large Chinese celadon jade ruyi sceptre four character Qianlong seal mark but 19th/20th century, the curved stem carved with tall stems of bamboo upon which two small long-tailed birds perch, the bamboo curving around five columns of calligraphy, the head and reverse of the stem with further calligraphic inscriptions, in a fitted box, 47cm.
Provenance: a private collection, London.
The calligraphic inscriptions relate to poems by the Qianlong Emperor. The inscription to the head of the ruyi is a poem entitled Praise the White Jade Ruyi, collected in the 4th Volume, no.44 of Qianlong Poetry, composed in the 54th year of Qianlong's reign, c.1789 AD. The inscription to the stem relates to the symbolism of jade ruyi.
