QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Before the Qianlong period, jade carvings in China were largely confined to small-sized items such as scholar’s objects, pendants, plaques and palm-sized vessels, due to the rarity of quality Khotan jades and the great distance from their place of origin. It was not until Qianlong 24^th year (1759), when the Qianlong Emperor successfully quelled the rebellions of the Dzungar Khanate and the Altishahr Khojas respectively, that large swathes of land in the northwest, now modern day Xinjiang, became part of Qing territory. From then on, abundant supply of substantial-sized, high-quality jades from Khotan became available, enabling the production of large jade objects made to impress and awe, such as the current pair of superbly carved jade ruyi sceptres.

The current pair of ruyi is extraordinary not only because of its sheer size, but also that the pair was carved out of the same boulder. One can only imagine the remarkable size of the original boulder. It is extremely rare to find a ruyi sceptre of this size, quality and in pairs. The ruyi sceptre, a long-standing auspicious symbol in Chinese art, gained popularity in the Qing dynasty when it was often used as a gift to the Emperor on his birthday. The current pair would undoubtedly have been made for an important imperial member, an official of high stature, or even the Emperor himself.

Compare to a large white jade ruyi of similar size, also dating to the Qianlong period, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 4115.