AN IMPERIAL KESI-MOUNTED HANDSCROLL RUBBING OF THE AUSPICIOUS BUTTERFLY IN TAICHANG TEMPLE (TAICHANG XIANDIE SHI) MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG |

ink on paper, depicting a rubbing of the poem entitled The Auspicious Butterfly in Taichang Temple (Taichang xiandie shi) in Qianlong's calligraphic script, followed by a yubi (Imperially inscribed) mark dated to the wushen year (in accordance with 1788) and two seals reading Guxi Tanzi zhi bao (Treasure of the Son of Heaven At Age Seventy) and Youri zizi (Still Diligent Every Day), all enclosed within a border of ferocious dragons striding amongst scrolling clouds, mounted as a handscroll with a kesi-woven panel on the outer depicting a recumbent deer resting atop jagged rocks against a yellow ground with multi-coloured clouds, beside the title slip, the mother-of-pearl inlaid zitan rectangular scroll box carved in relief with two five-clawed dragons leaping from clouds reaching for a flaming pearl, with bats in flight above turbulent waves cresting on stylised mountains

The rubbing is in good condition with only minor stains and creases in some areas. There is a slit on the kesi along the title slip and some surface wear. The box is in good condition with its original inlays largely preserved. There are some minor losses to the extremities and splitting in places, and tears to the textile lining.
"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 episode of the auspicious butterfly is recorded in many Qing records. In the winter of the 53rd year of the Qianlong reign (1788), the Qianlong Emperor was presented with a brocaded box during his stay in the Taichang Temple. The box opened to reveal a butterfly, and at the sight of the Emperor, it leapt in flight in continuous upward and downward movement, as if bowing to the Emperor nine times. In ecstasy and awe, the Emperor composed an imperial poem which was later carved into a stele to be preserved in the Taichang Temple. In his birthday in the following year, the Emperor even ordered for rubbings of the stele to be gifted to his high officials; the present handscroll is one of such examples. The mounting of the present handscroll with its zitan box is an archetypal example of packaging art in the Qing court. See a handscroll of Arguments of Emperor Qianlong against the Record of the Chao Ran Observatory by Su Shi, similarly mounted with a kesi panel on the exterior and stored in a zitan scroll box, exhibited in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, exhibition Story of a Brand Name. The Collection and Packaging Aesthetics of Emperor Qianlong in the Eighteenth Century, Taipei, 2017, cat. no. IV-16. The author of the catalogue notes that kesi panels decorated with a mythical deer below multi-coloured ruyi clouds are characteristic packaging for imperial calligraphic works and imperial poems during the latter part of the Qianlong reign. The Qianlong Emperor favoured the use of these simple and elegant wooden boxes to preserve his poems and essays. Another zitan scroll box, made to preserve the Qianlong Emperor's essays on his military achievements, is included in the exhibition Qing Legacies: The Sumptuous Art of Imperial Packaging, Macau Museum of Art, Macau, 2000, cat. no. 4. Another closely related box, destined to hold a Qianlong version of Zhang Zeduan's Qingming Shanghe tu (Ascending the River at the Qingming Festival), was sold in these rooms on 23rd October 2005, lot 391 and again on 8th April 2010, lot 1825.