REPUBLIC PERIOD

Ju Ren tang (Hall Where Benevolence Resides), originally named Haiyan tang, served as the residence of Empress Dowager Cixi in her later years and the venue where she received female foreign guests. After the establishment of the Beiyang government, Ju Ren tang became the place where the first official president of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai (1985-1916), worked and lived. This hall mark also appears on a number of Imperial porcelains made for the court of Yuan Shikai, during his very brief reign. The present lot came from the same collection as the soapstone ‘makara’ seal made for Yuan Shikai, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2018, lot 2968 (fig. 1).