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of rectangular outline, the two upper corners notched on the sides, the lower sides cut with a short groove for insertion, the main face incised in clerical script with two-hundred and thirty-two characters infilled with gilt-lacquer detailing the Qianlong emperor's naming of the Wufu Wudai Tang, titled Yuzhi Wufu Wudai Tang ji, and signed chen Zheng Rui jingshu  (respectfully inscribed by minister Zheng Rui)

Acquired in China between 1886-1895, and thence by descent until 1998 (by repute).

The plaque is in overall good condition. There are a few minor nicks along the edges, as well as some scattered inclusions in the surface. There are remnants of lacquer on the surface with some very minor wear to the gilding.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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The inscription on the plaque may be translated as:

Imperial inscription to commemorate the Hall of the Five Blessings in Five Generations Wufu Tang (Hall of the Five Blessings) is the lintel tablet that my grandfather (the Kangxi emperor) personally wrote and gave to my father (the Yongzheng emperor). My father painstakingly copied it and had it hung in halls in the Yonghe Gong and Yuanming Yuan (the Old Summer Palace) for all of posterity to see. In the bingshen year (corresponding to 1776) I renovated the Jingfu Gong in the Ningshou Gong section (of the Forbidden City) to enjoy after my retirement.  Jingfu (Great Blessing) was the name selected by my grandfather for the palace where the Empress Dowager Xiaohuizhang was to be served. Although I once wrote an Ode to the Five Blessings to be inscribed on a screen, and was inspired by the Wufu (the five blessings of longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, and a natural lifespan), I did not use that as a name to rename the hall, showing restraint and waiting for a special event to take place worthy of that name.

Now I have been blessed by Heaven with a great-great-grandson, with five generations under one roof. Such good fortune is rarely seen in any era. In the past, some of those who have attained such good fortune have appropriately named buildings to memorialize such events. Hence, it is most fitting that I use the name Wufu to rename the Jingfu Gong.  Constructing something else would just belabor matters; with just the achievements of my grandfather and father, there is unlimited bounty for posterity. If I have secured blessings, it is because I love virtue, especially the virtue of benefitting one’s people with one’s goodness and it does not bear repeating here.  Those of my posterity who read this account and the Ode to the Five Blessings should respectfully realize that my grandfather and father were blessed by Heaven because they revered Heaven, loved the people, diligently governed, surrounded themselves with people of merit, and were mindful of traditional codes. I have modeled my heart after the heart of my grandfather and father, and worked assiduously from dawn to dusk, not daring to be lax. As a result, Heaven is blessing me with five generations under one roof. If we wish to maintain this blessing forever, we must continue to make efforts and exercise caution down through the generations.

Respectfully inscribed by minister Zheng Rui.

This plaque commemorates the auspicious and unprecedented birth of the Qianlong emperor’s first great great-grandson in 1784, the fifth generation to live under his roof. The Hall mentioned in the first line of the inscription yu zhi Wufu Wudai Tang ji (Imperial inscription to commemorate the Hall of the Five Blessings in Five Generations) is a room in Jingfu Gong (Palace of Great Blessings), for which this plaque is likely to have been made. The inscription on the plaque chronicles how the emperor wrote the calligraphy Wufu Wudai Tang on a bian'e (horizontal inscribed name tablets) in the fifty-second year of his reign (1787) and had it hung in the Palace. The plaque also records Qianlong’s achievements and virtues and the call to reflect on his happiness and long life as well as his love for his people, his diligence in governance and administration and vigilance in improving himself.

The inscription ends with the signature of Zheng Rui (d. 1815), an important Manchu official from the Plain White Banner clan. He held a number of prominent official positions including Yuanming Yuan Yuanchen (Administrative Assistant at the Yuanming Yuan, 1769-73), Suzhou Zhizao (Director of the Textile Bureau in Suzhou, 1789-91) and by the end of his life he attained the position of Neiwufu Dachen (Grand Minister of the Imperial Household Department in the Forbidden City).

Two cylindrical gilt-bronze censers cast with an identical inscription that were also probably made for the Wufu Wudai Tang have been sold at auction, one at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st December 2009, lot 1943; and the other at Christie’s South Kensington, 2nd October 2003, lot 103. Another Imperial spinach jade plaque from the Qianlong period inscribed with the Record of the Ink Clouds Room was sold in our Paris sale room, 13th June 2012, lot 99 (fig. 1), and the Imperial Wufu Wudai Tang Guxi Tianzi Bao seal from the Wufu Wudai Tang was sold in these rooms, 19th-20th March 2013, lot 402 (figs. 3 & 4).