DISQUE BI 'CHANG YI ZISUN' EN JADE CÉLADON PÂLE

A large majority of archaistic jades from the Qianlong period were in essence carved in imitation of jades from the earlier Han dynasty, and many pieces that were produced in the Qianlong reign were slightly modified to suit the prevailing taste of the Emperor. The current example is of no exception. The present plaque replicates Han dynasty examples of this same shape either with the characters, Yizisun, 'For the benefit of sons and grandsons', or Yishou, 'For the benefit of Longevity'. Compare with an Eastern Han plaque inscribed with the Yishou characters in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Jadewares (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commerical Press, Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 258-259, no. 216.

Compare this lot to an example from the Oscar Raphael Collection in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, inscribed with Liangzi Yibai liushiba hao, 'the character Liang, from the series numbered one hundred and sixty eight', illustrated by James C.S. Lin in Arts of Asia, May-June 2010, p. 114. no. 14. Also see another plaque in the Palace Museum in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Jadewares (III), p. 158, no. 127, inscribed with Fuzi yibai bashiba hao, 'The character Fu, from the series numbered one hundred and eighty eight'.