COLLECTION NAME:
National Palace English
Record
Work ID:
M010F0029
Title:
Jade ju-yi scepter, inscribed with the phrase Wan-shou Wu-jiang(meaning long life)
Creation Date:
Qing Dynasty
Start Year Date:
A.D.1644
End Year Date:
A.D.1911
Dynasty:
63 Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1644~1911)
Creation Place:
China
Measurements:
Length: 42.0 cm; Width(head): 9.2 cm; Height: 6.5 cm; Weight: 484.2g
Material:
Jade
Form:
Ru-yi scepter
Type:
Ru-yi scepters
Repository:
The National Palace Museum, Taipei
Description:
On the cloud-styled head, a five-clawed dragon is embossed at the head tip and its tail extends slightly to the back. The head surface is decorated with a cloud pattern inlaid with gold beads, and the side is decorated with the fretted pattern also inlaid with gold beads. The stem becomes wider and pointed towards the tip, and is decorated with the Swastika, (pronounced "wan" in Chinese), a mystical Buddhist emblem that means good fortune and virtue found often in the Buddhist Classics, throughout the surface. The center is a rectangle that was left blank when the Swastika pattern was applied. It was later decorated with an engraved inscription of a wishful phrase, "endless years to live" in li-shu (square plain style). Surrounding the phrase are decorative flowers and leaf patterns. The tip is embossed with a hornless and double-tailed dragon. The back is decorated with shallow incision of monthly roses and bamboo gilt in gold. The monthly rose represents an evergreen life, and bamboo represents crackers that drive away evil spirits. Together, the picture symbolizes a fresh and peaceful year to come. On the back, there is also a yellow skill slip that writes, "A Ruyi from the Empress palace is received on the first day of the fifth month of the eighteenth year reign of Daoguang." The tip is attached with a pair of light-blue tassels, a yellow decorative knot, and two coral beads.
ImageV ID:
M010F0029AS002
Rights:
Lee & Lee Communications