A BRONZE MANCHU OFFICIAL'S SEAL QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD, DATED 1749

of rectangular form and surmounted by a tall slightly tapering cylindrical handle, cast at the top with gongbu ducuisuo zhi guanfang; Libu zao ('Official seal of the Incitement Office of the Ministry of Works; made by the Ministry of Rites') in both Chinese and Manchu, the two sides with the characters Qian zi yiqian jiubai wushiqi hao ('Number 1957 of Qian') and Qianlong shisi nian liu yue ri zao ('Made in the sixth month in the 14th year of the Qianlong reign'), corresponding to 1749, the seal face cast with gongbu ducuisuo zhi guan fang ('Official seal of the Incitement Office of the Ministry of Works') in Chinese and Manchu respectively

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5th November 1996, lot 946.

Ministry of Works (Gongbu), one of the six ministries (Liubu) of the central government in the Qing dynasty, oversees the civil and mechanical engineering of the empire. The Incitement Office (ducuisuo), an internal department of the Ministry of Works, was responsible for administrating the Bureau of Construction (Yingshan qingli si), Bureau of Forestry and Crafts (Yuheng qingli si), Bureau of Irrigation and Transports (Doushui qingli si) and Bureau of State Farms (Tuntian qingli si).

Another Manchu official’s seal of this form, but for the Ministry of Justice (Xingbu), was sold in these rooms, 7th October 2010, lot 2108.