Sceptre ruyi impérial en jade céladon pâle sculpté Chine, dynastie Qing, marque et époque Qianlong, daté 1785

le sceptre auspicieux simplement sculpté dans un jade limpide, la tête incisée d'un poème impérial intitulé yong ruyi (panégyrique du ruyi) et daté du premier jour de l'année lunaire yisi (9 février 1785), un court rebord en relief sur le contour du pavillon, le manche doucement incurvé se terminant en pointe avec un motif archaïque en méandres huiwen

Bought by the father of the present owner in Lyon in 1950.

A small area of calcification to the lower edge of the head (visible on the catalogue illustration); two light natural inclusion lines in the stone across the width of the shaft ; very minor nicks to the edges ; otherwise the piece is in good condition. Please note that the colour of the stone is more pale celadon, less white than illustration would suggest in the catalogue.
"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."

The text of the inscription by the Qianlong emperor is found in the Yuzhi shiji (Collected Poetry by His Majesty ), Wuji (Fifth Collection) (Siku quanshu ed.),  11:2a.  Given its position in the collection, the poem can be dated to the first day the lunar year yisi (9 February 1785) or shortly thereafter.

Title provide in the text:
Yong Ruyi "Paean to a Ruyi [As One Wishes] Sceptre"
Lü you ru yi yong
Zi fu si qi yi
Yi gai jin hu qing
Tong wei xing zhi ci
Xing gu wu bu shan
Qing nai shan wu ce
Xi yuan shi zhi ran
Ke qing yan ru yi
Ru shan de jia peng
Ru e fei mei shi
Gao yu ru yi zhe
Zhi zhi sheng jing bei

Though paeans are often sung to the ruyi,
Once more I ponder the concept it represents.
Thought is closely allied to predilection,
And thought and predilection are secondary to original nature.
While original nature is invariably good,
Predilection is a mixture of good and evil.
Far apart in practice, people thus use the ruyi as it suits them,
But this surely is to disparage its true significance.
For if one is good, he will have it as a fine friend,
But if one is evil, it will do him no good turn.
So I say to those who would wield the ruyi—
First achieve true knowledge, found complete in the writings of the sage.

"Far apart in practice" is an allusion to the Lunyu (Analects) of Confucius, 17:2: "In original nature people are close, but in practice they are far apart."  The "writings of the sage" refers, of course, to Confucius and his tradition.  The drift of the poem, in fact, depends on several key Neo-Confucian terms:  yi (concept),  yi (thought, especially in the sense of  "will"), qing (predilection or "emotional tendency"), and xing (original nature, the pure essense of humanity bestowed as one's natural endowment from Heaven), and concludes by enjoining one to seek "true knowledge" through which one recovers one's "original nature."