Qianlong’s treasure sold for more than 19 million USD

The lion sculpture is part of the auction “Nghia pan luu Phuong – collected works of Dr. Ngo Quyen”, organized by Sotheby’s Hong Kong on April 29.

Ngo Quyen is the son of politician Ngo Lien Bach during the Republic of Vietnam. Ngo Quyen used to work in the diplomatic field, focusing on archeology and Chinese art research since his retirement. In the 1950s and 1960s, he collected more than 1,000 antiques. He bought the seal of the Qing emperor at Sotheby’s auction, which took place in London, England in 1965. In 1968, Ngo Quyen built a private museum in the south of England.

The seal is nearly 11 cm high, made from white slate – a typical stone in Jin’an, Fuzhou city, Fujian province, China, engraved with the words “Qianlong Yu Exhibit Chi Bao”. This seal was stamped by the emperor on his favorite calligraphy works, including famous ancient paintings such as Spring algae by Guo Xi (Northern Song Dynasty), Thien Ly Giang Son by Vuong Hy Manh (Northern Song Dynasty) or painting Khe Son travel by Pham Khoan (Song Dynasty).

Qianlong ordered at least seven seals engraved with the phrase “Qian Long Yu Exhibited Treasure”, of different shapes and sizes. In particular, this 11 cm high seal is one of the three most commonly used kings.

Qianlong’s items are often auctioned for tens of millions of dollars. In 2010, the seal was also engraved with the word “Qian Long Ngu Exhibit Chi Bao”, made of precious stones, and sold for 118 million HKD ($ 15 million) – setting a record for the most expensive seal in the world at that time. Last year, a work in white jade engraved with the words “Celebrating the road” set a price of 145 million HKD (18.5 million USD).

Qianlong is famous for his love of seals. He collected paintings, calligraphy and stamped many of his stamps on them. The emperor ordered about 1,800 seals to be crafted – the most of any emperor in Chinese history. Printing materials are diverse, from copper, stone, glass to onyx, ivory, white jade.

Nghinh Xuan (according to The Value)