AN IMPERIAL ZITAN-MOUNTED INSCRIBED JADE BI STAND QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

the jade bi of white tone with areas of calcified russet incised with archaistic scrolls derived from stylised animal forms, the reverse with an imperial poem arranged radially towards the central aperture of the disc, mounted in a zitan stand carved on both sides in low relief with archaistic scrolls and taotie masks on the aprons, the spandrels with stylised animal forms, the disc secured by a circular plaque centred with a trigram

Plain jade huan and bi were made from the Neolithic to the Han periods and mounted on table screens served as beautiful objects for the enjoyment of the emperor. They were aesthetically pleasing but more importantly, they were designed to serve as a keepsake of the glorious past.

A number of closely related zitan screens holding ancient jade discs was made for the Qianlong Emperor and inscribed with his poems, most of them preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. Two screens with plain jade discs, engraved with poems and seals of the emperor, are illustrated in Teng Shu-p'ing, Neolithic Jades in the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1992, pl. 100, the stands incised with poems dated to 1772 and 1784, respectively. Four further examples with grain-patterned bi are included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ancient Jade Artefacts in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1982, pls. 63, 68, 188 and 189.

Compare also a millet-coloured jade bi mounted in a zitan stand inscribed with a poem dated to 1774, included in the exhibition Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, cat. no. 181, sold in our London rooms, 29th March 1977, lot 180, and again in these rooms, 8th October 2009, lot 1808, from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat collection; a screen inscribed with Qianlong's poem dated to 1778, included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art in London, the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935, cat. no. 2776; one sold in these rooms, 15th November 1989, lot 503; and a fourth example with an inscribed poem dated to 1764, also sold in these rooms, 4th November 1997, lot 1201.

Guo Fuxiang, from the Palace Museum, Beijing, in his article titled 'Qianlong's Appreciation of the Zitan Mounted "Dragon and Phoenix" Bi', Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2007, p. 49, on the table screen first sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 10th October 1990, lot 1901, and again in these rooms, 8th April 2007, lot 603, notes that imperial records dated to the 35th year of Qianlong's reign (equivalent to 1770) mention that in the Spring the emperor saw a rare treasure, a large bi, and was deeply attracted to it. The emperor noted that this 'treasure' was over one thousand and five hundred years old. He named the disc 'Long Life Han Bi' and wrote a poem in praise of it. He also ordered Palace jade carvers to incise his poem and have the jade bi inserted into a zitan stand with the poem engraved on the back. 

The meaning of jade discs remains an enigma, however, by the early Han dynasty it became customary to include discs in the jade suits worn by Imperial princes when buried. Han ritual texts and commentaries describe bi as the symbol of Heaven, and confirm its role in ritual ceremonies at the time. Under the Qianlong Emperor jade discs continued to be associated with Heaven and were seen as the symbol of power. By commissioning the mounting of jade discs in elaborate stands for display meant that they were appreciated for their reference to antiquity, as well as to the central power they represented for the emperor.