A SET OF TWO MASTERFULLY CARVED SOAPSTONE 'MYTHICAL BEAST' SEALS QING DYNASTY, YONGZHENG PERIOD

both superbly carved of square form, surmounted by a mythical beast, one boldly rendered in the form of a crouching mythical feline powerfully crouching with its head and upper body turned towards its left, its bulging eyes dotted with in black and framed by thick eyebrows, flaming jowls and a prominently rendered snout, its powerful claws and bifurcated tail exquisitely picked out, the other in the form of a crouching single-horned xiezhai with its head turned towards its left, its ferocious expression and posture finely depicted and accentuated with its flaming jowls, feathery neck and dragon-like claws, its back with a prominently pronounced crenulated spine extending to a long curled feathery tail picked out in precise detail, the stone of a pale guarang hong ('pumpkin-seed red') colour mottled with greyish variegated cinnabar-red tones

Christie's London, 17th December 1981, lot 487.

Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, cat. no. 14.

Good condition, with just very minor surface wear and nicks and scratches to the extremities.
"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."

Powerfully carved with ferocious recumbent beasts, the current set of two exquisitely carved soapstone seals exemplify the artist’s unlimited creativity, utmost meticulousness and technical perfection. Resembling winged felines with well-defined muscular bodies and bifurcated tails, these mythical animals were appropriate symbols of the Yongzheng Emperor, who dedicated his attention to the consolidation of his power from the very beginning of his reign.

On the 23rd day, in the first month of the Yongzheng reign (1723), Prince Yi of the First Rank (1686-1730) presented a small group of soapstone seals, superbly adorned with mythical beasts. Assumingly delighted by the exquisite quality of the seals, the new Emperor ordered their seal faces to be carved at Kezizuo (‘workshop of inscription’); see The First Historical Archives of China, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, eds., Qinggong neiwufu zaobanchu dang’an zonghui [General collection of archival records from the Qing imperial household department workshop], Beijing, 2005, vol. 1, p. 10. Included among them were the red soapstone ‘tuolong dragon’ jing tian zun ju (‘Worship of Heaven and respect of ancestors’) seal (fig. 1) and the red soapstone ‘winged bear’ chaoqianxiti (‘consistent perseverance’) seal (fig. 2). Together with a handful of other examples, both seals are still preserved in Beijing, illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City: Imperial Seals of the Ming & Qing Dynasties, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2008, cat. nos. 168 and 169. Masterfully carved with equal level of meticulousness, similarly surmounted by ferocious muscular beasts depicted with startled eyes, the present set and the Beijing group were clearly produced at the same workshop, if not carved by the very same hand. In order to be presented in the first month of the reign, to please the new Emperor on his ascendance to the throne, the production of these soapstone seals was likely to have started months in advance in the late Kangxi period.

The pair to the left seal of the present lot is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession number: gu za 001875, fig. 3). Of the same size and similarly carved in great detail with a coiling winged beast, the Taipei example is inscribed in ink on one side “27th day of the twelve month of the fourth year, soapstone”. It is believed to be an inventory note scribbled when it was presented to the imperial court, probably in the fourth year of the Yongzheng reign (1727).

Several other closely related soapstone seals with uncarved seal faces from the Qing Court collection are also preserved in Taipei, including a seal carved with a perching phoenix (accession number: gu za 001879), and another with a single-horned beast (accession number: gu za 001878).

Dedicated to the ultimate ruler of the empire, together with only a handful of other examples in the museums, the present seals were clearly designed to represent the loyalty of the patron, capture the desire of the Emperor, and epitomise the glory of the nation.