A SUPERBLY CARVED RETICULATED WOOD 'THREE FRIENDS OF WINTER' RUYI SCEPTRE QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD, DATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH 1736

masterfully carved and reticulated in the form of a gnarled branch, the head accented with interwined twigs bearing pine leaves, the curved shaft intertwined with thin branches bearing further pine leaves, prunus buds and blooms, terminating with a bamboo shoot issuing clusters of leaves, incised with the characters Qianlong yuan nian ('first year of the Qianlong period', corresponding to 1736) and jin ('entrance' or 'advance')

Mayuyama & Co. 

Hosokawa Morisada Collection ten – Chuugokuno bunbougu wo chuushinni [Morisada Hosokawa Collection exhibition – Around the Chinese stationery], Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, Kumamoto, 1988, cat. no. 63.

Morisada Hosokawa, Itsutokuroku [Wisdom in pieces], Tokyo, 1982, no. 55.

The overall condition is very good with the exception of only a few occasional insect holes and minute nicks 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."

Intricately carved with the ‘three friends of winter’, the headpiece of the current ruyi sceptre is abundant with pine, and prunus is interspersed with bamboo on the shaft. As a work of art, it is finely executed, poetically elegant, yet naturalistically modelled. During the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, the court had a great fondness for such naturalistically carved ruyi sceptres. Similar reticulated wood sceptres can be found in the Qing court collection; see, for example, an 18th century boxwood ruyi sceptre depicting a vine climbing up an ancient branch in the Taipei Palace Museum, illustrated in Jixiang ruyi / Auspicious Ju-i Scepters of China, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1995, cat. no. 7. Compare also a set of nine tassled sceptres from the Yongzheng to Qianlong period exquisitely modelled as plants such as auspicious fruits and flowers, made from redwood, boxwood, sandalwood and ebony, formerly in the Qing court collection, now in the collection of the Beijing Palace Museum, exhibited in China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2005-6, cat. no. 273.

Comparable naturalistically carved ruyi sceptres made from wood or bamboo are also observed in Qing court paintings; see, for instances, the screen depicting a lady admiring the peonies of Yongzheng Paintings of Twelve Beauties, illustrated in Yongzheng: Qing Shizong wenwu dazhan / Harmony and Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2009, cat. no. I-63, and The Qianlong Emperor Viewing the Moon, published in Shiquan Qianlong: Qing Gaozong de yishu pinwei / The All Complete Qianlong: The Aesthetic Tastes of the Qing Emperor Gaozong, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2013, cat. no. III-27.

Historians generally hold that the ruyi sceptre arose from backscratchers that came to China with Buddhism during the Sui dynasty (581-618), and that it developed along with other implements held by icons of Buddhist deities. Yet some scholars point to archeological finds of ruyi sceptres that go back to the end of the Warring States Period (475-221 BCE) and the beginning of the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE-8 CE), considerably earlier than the transmission of Buddhism during the Sui dynasty. For a discussion of the development of ruyi sceptres, see Chen Xiasheng, ‘Ruyi kao: Lidai ruyi de shiyong yu fazhan [A study of ruyi sceptres: The use and development of ruyi sceptres throughout the ages]’, Jixiang ruyi, op.cit., pp. 18-34. Later, ruyi lost their religious significance and became used for scratching. In addition, because the ruyi headpiece had the shape of lingzhi fungus, a herb said to give immortality, the ruyi sceptre came to symbolise long life. Along the way, this implement was also given the name ruyi (‘as one wishes’). It thus became a symbol of good fortune and a gift of choice.

From the Yongzheng period, important officers of the court had to present ruyi sceptres to imperial family members on major holidays and occasions. When these were stored in the palace, a yellow slip was attached to the ruyi sceptre bearing the bestower’s name. For example, the National Palace Museum in Taipei has a carved root embellished ruyi sceptre attached with two yellow slips, the first saying, “Received from Wang, the first of the lunar First Month, 1793,” and the other slip saying, “I, Kuilun, humbly present this on bended knee”, ibid., cat. no. 33. During the Yongzheng period, the ruyi sceptre also became a gift that the Emperor gave to officials and neighboring countries as a token of wishes for good fortune.

The present ruyi sceptre, towards the end of the shaft, is incised with the characters Qianlong yuan nian ('first year of the Qianlong period') and jin ('entrance' or 'advance'). This perhaps means that this sceptre was received by the court in 1736. Sceptres formerly in the Qing court collection, however, have the date of acquisition, and usually the bestower’s name as well, written on a separate yellow slip instead of being carved directly on the shaft. If this sceptre was given by a royal family member or an officer, the inscription was likely carved after it entered the palace collection, suggesting that it was possibly made slightly earlier, say the final year of the Yongzheng reign. The inscription might also mean that the palace workshop made the ruyi sceptre in the first year of the Qianlong reign (corresponding to 1736).

Additional single characters are also found on other works of art made during the Qianlong period. For instances, two carved cinnabar lacquer mallow-shaped ‘dragon and clouds’ bowl stands in the National Palace Museum are incised with single characters in addition to the reign marks; zhi (wisdom) on one and ren (humanity) on the other. The zhi bowl stand, together with a matching carved cinnabar lacquer bowl with the character xin (faithfulness), are documented in Shiquan Qianlong, op.cit., cat. no. II-3.16. In this exhibition catalogue, Chen Huixia points out that works with single characters were trial pieces. The characters ren and xin can be found in the Thousand Character Classic (which formed the basis of a numbering system), but not the character zhi. Thus, the numbering system seems not to be that of the Thousand Character Classic. The character jin, the solitary character that appears on the present sceptre, likewise is not found in the Thousand Character Classic. The present ruyi, like the carved lacquer bowl stand, was plausibly a trial piece which was made shortly after the Qianlong Emperor ascended the throne.