AN IMPERIAL WHITE JADE ‘XIUMU JIAYIN’ SEAL QING DYNASTY, JIAQING PERIOD

of square form with a slanted trapezoid top, surmounted by a large single-horn chilong carved in high relief, detailed with bushy eyebrows and flaring nostrils, its strong limbs with well-combed hair and powerful claws, the curling body accentuated by the raised spine terminating in a scrolling bifurcated tail, its head turned backward, facing a smaller chilong with a sinuous body clambering from the opposite side, the square seal face crisply carved in seal script with four characters reading xiumu jiayin (‘Beautiful Tree, Excellent Shade’), the stone of a celadon-tinged white tone with natural inclusions and veining

The seal is overall good condition. There is a a tiny chip to the tip-end of the tail of the smaller chilong and occasional expected nibblings along the edges of the carving. The actual colour of the stone is slightly darker, somewhat more greyish compared to the catalogue illustration.
"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."

This imperial seal once owned by the Jiaqing emperor is carved from a white jade stone with cloudy inclusions which endow the piece with a sense of movement and archaism befitting of the two chilong that surmount it. Delicately modelled in the round, the detailed and sinuous forms of these mythical creatures contrast with the angularity of the top of the seal. The seal face is carefully inscribed with four characters in seal script which read xiumu jiayin, which can be translated as ‘Beautiful tree, excellent shade’.

The Xiumu jiayin is a pavilion in the Qinzheng qinxian (Hall of Diligent Government), which contained a small audience hall and many offices housing different government organisations. The Qinzheng qinxian was the emperor’s chief place for work, where he would read documents and meet with officials, and hold discussions with scholars on occasion. It is the second scene from The Forty Views of the Yuanmingyuan (Yuzhi yuanmingyuan sishijing shi), a series of forty poems composed by the Qianlong emperor that were paired with paintings. Completed in 1744, the paintings are the collaborative work of Tangdai (1673-c. 1752), a Manchu official of the imperial court, and Shen Yuan (active c. 1728-48), a Chinese painter attached to the Qing imperial Painting Academy. Tangdai’s landscapes are rendered in the style of the scholar-amateur Orthodox School while Shen Yuan’s depiction of the architecture displays the influence of European perspective and modelling, which was taught to Academy painters by European Jesuit missionary-artists.

Qianlong’s poem for the Qinzheng qianxian can be translated, ‘East of the Zhengdaguangming is the Qingzheng qinxian, in which [I] review the memo to the throne and receive officials at the morning. At noon, I retreat to the back of the screen to practice calligraphy. East of the Qingzheng qinxian is the Baohe, Taihe and Xiushi jiayin, amongst which are pavilions, halls and a luxuriant woods rendering a bright view’. Although Qianlong refers to the Xiushi jiayin, its location in relation to the other buildings shows that this and the Xiumu jiayin actually refer to the same building.

Another seal produced for the Qingzheng qinxian by the Jiaqing emperor, modelled with a crouching mythical creature and the seal face inscribed with three characters fu chun lou, was sold at Piasa Paris, 10th June 2011, lot 160. The fu chun lou refers to a view of the gardens from the Qingzheng qinxian.