AN IVORY 'DHARMACAKRA' SEAL MING DYNASTY, DATED TO THE 13TH YEAR OF THE YONGLE REIGN (CORRESPONDING TO 1415 A.D.)

the 'wheel of law' finely carved on a double-staged lotus pedestal supported a square base, the rays encircled within a beaded filet, the base inscribed one the upper edge Yongle shisan nian wu yue [ ] ri ('Made in the [ ] day in the fifth month of the thirteenth year of Yongle') (corresponding to 1415), the precise day left blank, the seal text reading Longshan fojiao 'The benevolence of Buddhist teaching' in positive seal script, the cream-coloured ivory patinated to dark-brown tones along the edges

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st May 2001, lot 653.

The seal is in very good overall condition with natural age cracks. There is a small original ivory plug on the top of the wheel, that is part of the central growth tip of the ivory tusk.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Known as Dharmacakra or the 'wheel of the law' seal, the present example bears an inscription dated to the 13th year of the Yongle reign, which corresponds to 1415. According to the Palace Museum expert Yang Boda, documentary seals of this type were made as gifts to appease Esoteric Buddhists in southwest China. This suggestion is endorsed by a Buddhist text found on this seal and on a seal in the collection of Simon Kwan illustrated in Chinese Ivories from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 206, pl. 89. The Kwan seal is also dated to 1415 and is carved with the four characters 'longshan fojiao' which may be translated as 'the benevolence of the Buddhist teaching'. Yang, ibid., p. 206, notes that the 'wheel symbolizes the everlasting truth of Buddha's teachings, and as one of the Eight Treasures of Esoteric Buddhism it is a motif often found on Buddhist temples to signify the flourishing of Buddhism'.  There was a close religious and political tie between the early Ming court and the Tibetan religious hierarchy and it is known that both the Yongle and Xuande emperors commissioned the making of various artefacts and objects as tributes to Tibetan monasteries, lamas and leaders.

Another Dharmacakra ivory seal, in the Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, is included in Robert D. Jacobsen, Appreciating China,  Minneapolis, 2002, p. 327, pl. 197. The Minneapolis Museum of Art seal is dated to the tenth year of Zhengtong's reign, (corresponding to 1445) and bears an inscription that confirms it being made for Ma so nan ling ch'an, a Tibetan lama who is said to have visited the capital that year. Compare also a seal from the Palmer collection, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition, The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1957, cat. no. 371, and also illustrated in S. Riddell, Dated Chinese Antiquities: 600-1650, London, 1979, pl. 190, where Riddell translates the dedicatory inscription as 'presented to the lama Ch'ao-pa Tsang-pu in the second year of Xuande', which corresponds to 1427.