Skip to main content
Bonhams
Search

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

Previous Lot
Next Lot
A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841 image 1
A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841 image 2
A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841 image 3
A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841 image 4
A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841 image 5
A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841 image 6
A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841 image 7
A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841 image 8
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF EUGENE Y.C. SUNG IN TRUST
Lot 144

A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL
inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841

Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art including the Francine and Bernard Wald Collection of Fine Snuff Bottles, Part I
17 March 2025, 09:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$19,200 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

A RARE AND FINE DATED AND INSCRIBED 'PILLAR-FORM' SQUARE GRAY JADE SEAL

inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841
Carved from one piece of flawless, pale celadon jade, the square base surmounted by a tall column with indented corners under a galleried platform supporting a crouching dragon, finely carved with mouth agape and teeth clenched, the head dramatically resting on its sinewy body which forms the finial crest, the shaft inscribed 河清鄉 (Heqing county), 上帝廟 (God's temple), the base inscribed on two vertical faces 道光二十一年辛丑 (Daoguang 21st year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841) and 沐恩黎一經堂敬酬 (Repay respectably by Mu'en Li at Yijing tang), the four-character seal inscribed in jiu die script 上帝之寳 (God's precious treasure), the inscriptions with traces of carmine pigment.
7 1/2in (19cm) high

Footnotes

清道光 道光二十一年辛丑款 珍罕灰玉龍鈕柱形印

Provenance:
Eugene Y.C. Sung Collection, Ohio and New York

來源：
Eugene Y.C. Sung藏，俄亥俄州、紐約州

This seal is of the absolute finest craftsmanship and utilizes a single piece of nephrite from which to carve the entire seal. This fact alone displays the importance of the object to the donor. The amount of wastage in such an evenly toned brilliant material would have been high, and costly. The 'column' or 'pillar' form is very rare amongst jade seals and no other example appears to have been published. This form of seal, cast in bronze, however, can be traced back to at least the Warring States period and on through the Ming and Qing dynasties, for examples see Ancient Seals, The Complete Collection of Treasures at the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 7, no. 11 (Warring States seal); p. 166, no. 343 (Jin seal); p. 168, no. 345 (Yuan seal) p. 183, no. 369 (Ming seal); and p. 228, no. 415 (Qing seal). The likelihood, however, is that this seal is more closely based on an architectural form. The tall column with indented corners under a galleried platform supporting a crouching dragon, probably represents an architectural feature such as a gateway pillar or column. Many large building complexes across China feature such pillars for gateways. For example, see the gateway to the famous Temple and Cemetery (and family mansion) of Confucius that is located at Qufu in Shandong Province and illustrated on the UNESCO World Heritage Convention website (whc.unesco.org/en/list/704/). Four large pillars supporting a capital upon which sits a dragon grace the entrance.

The seal has inscriptions on various planes. The central pillar is inscribed 'Heqing county' and 'God's temple'. The name of the county is unfortunately a common one and we cannot place this in a particular province. 'God's temple', is a little harder to classify. We presume this refers to a Christian church, though we cannot be entirely sure, as the inscriber used the word 'temple' (廟 miao) instead of 'church' (教堂 or 教會 jiaotang or jiaohui). This is certainly open to interpretation.

One side of the short square base of the seal reads, 'Repay respectably by Mu'en Li at Yijing tang'. The seal it seems was commissioned by Mu'en Li at a school or gathering place named the Yijing Tang. It is possible that Mu'en Li was a missionary but we cannot be certain. Another side of the short base is inscribed Daoguang twenty-first year, xinchou, corresponding to 1841.

The four-character seal that covers the entire base is inscribed in jiu die seal script 上帝之寳 (God's precious treasure) further suggesting the Christian connection.

Additional information

Bid now on these items