A LARGE CARVED BAMBOO RUYI SCEPTRE

Qianlong

Footnotes

清乾隆 竹雕夔龍紋如意

Provenance: Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1979 (collector's notes)

來源： 倫敦古董商Spink & Son Ltd.，1979年（據藏家筆記）

The Ruyi was regarded as an auspicious symbol in ancient China, as its name translates to 'as one desires.' Traditionally, the fungus was also believed to contain properties that promote longevity. Ruyi sceptres crafted from various materials were commissioned throughout history. Bamboo ruyi sceptres were highly favoured and esteemed by the intellectual class, particularly among monks and recluses. Notably, Emperor Gao of the Southern Qi dynasty, Xiao Daocheng (427-482), once presented a bamboo-root carved ruyi to the hermit Ming Sengshao (明僧紹). Additionally, the Tang dynasty Monk Jiaoran (皎然) composed a poem titled A Bamboo Ruyi to Present to Master Xiang on His Journey to Deliver a Lecture (賦得竹如意送詳法師赴講). The inherent natural and unadorned qualities of bamboo resonated with the aesthetic and philosophical values of this intellectual elite. The appreciation for bamboo ruyi sceptres can be viewed as a counterpoint to the prevailing trends of refined luxury and excessive ornamentation. See a related carved bamboo-root ruyi, mid-Qing dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, in the Palace Museum, Beijing (acc.no.故00120958).

See a related bamboo ruyi, 17th/18th century, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 3 April 2019, lot 3715.