清十八世紀末至十九世紀 白玉福壽雙全如意 |

Ip Yee, Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 221.

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我們很高興為您提供上述拍品狀況報告。由於敝公司非專業修復人員，在此敦促您向其他專業修復人員索取諮詢，以獲得更詳盡、專業之報告。

準買家應該檢查每款拍品以確認其狀況，蘇富比所作的任何陳述均為專業主觀看法而非事實陳述。準買家應參考有關該拍賣的重要通知（見圖錄）。

雖然本狀況報告或有針對某拍品之討論，但所有拍賣品均根據印於圖錄內之業務規則以拍賣時狀況出售。

The entire surface of the present ruyi sceptre is intricately carved in relief with peaches and bats, chosen for their auspicious connotations. A design appropriate for imperial birthdays, this is a rare piece commissioned specifically for the occasion. "Superior men found the likeness of all excellent qualities in jade. Soft, smooth, and glossy, it appeared to them like benevolence," says Confucius in Liji: Pinyi [The Book of Rites: The Meaning of Interchange of Missions twixt Different Courts]. The embodiment by jade of the virtues of a gentleman, combined with the auspiciousness of the ruyi motif, thus presents a glimpse into the quintessence of Chinese culture. In the Imperial Qing court, the consort chosen to be empress would be presented with a ruyi sceptre as a recognition of her newfound status. On the day before the wedding, such sceptres would be placed at the four corners of the marital bed to confer blessings on the consummation. As an imperial object, the ruyi was ubiquitous in court; as the sceptre has no practical function and could express good wishes suitable for any occasion, it was a gift often bestowed to foreign ambassadors by the emperor, whom himself would receive the same gift during birthdays and coronations.

The history of ruyi dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty. According to the Ming Daoist Manual Tianhuang Zhidao Taiqing Yuce: Xiuzhenqi Yongzhang, ruyi was first invented by the Yellow Emperor or Huangdi as a weapon against his rival Chiyou, and afterwards took the form of a flower with a shaft, with which evil spirits can be exorcised and good fortune bestowed.