comprising two short square-section pillars connected by a central triangular join at the top, each with a rounded hinged capital on one end and hollowed from the other end, the capitals fitted with a hexagonal plug between and notched at the pinnacle, when extended the pillars forming a single column revealing the inscription, the notches forming a rectangular aperture, the other sides carved in low relief with archaistic bird motifs, the triangular join carved with taotie, the stone a translucent white dappled with icy-white inclusions, with a rectangular white jade aperture insert to hold the extension, wood stand (3)

Collection of George de Menasce (1890-1967), no. 391.
Roger Keverne, Ltd., London, 8th June 1997.
Collection of Florence (1920-2018) and Herbert (1917-2016) Irving, no. 474.

Chinese Works of Art, Tradition of Collecting, Roger Keverne and Michael Gillingham, London, 1997, cat. no. 66.

The plaything is in good condition with only minute nicks along the edges. Please note that this lot includes a stand, frame or other component made from a type of Chinese hardwood, which, if exported, will require a CITES permit to leave the United States.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This piece is inscribed with a poem composed by the Qianlong Emperor, which can be translated as follows (after Roger Keverne and Michael Gillingham, Traditions of Collecting, London, 1997, p. 49): When folded back the hinges form the character wang (king).
When opened out it serves as a ruler.
The base may be used to compare lengths and the precisely fitting workmanship is exquisite.
How could Yang Huo have been able to be so oppressive [had he been thus guided]?
Pei Yuan would not have lived up to this measure.
To measure one’s materials is to institute the Golden Rule,
To select the superior is no mean thing.
Qianlong Imperially Inscribed.

An erudite scholar and avid collector, the Qianlong Emperor passionately advocated the advancement of civilization through the study of history and antiquities, a concept eagerly manifested in the works of art that he commissioned. According to imperial records, the Emperor proposed to ‘restore ancient ways’, and urged craftsmen in the imperial workshops to follow the styles and specifications recorded in ancient catalogues. The inspiration for this piece probably derives from the line drawing of a Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) bronze fitting recorded in the Xiqing gujian [Catalogue of Xiqing antiquities], which was compiled in the mid-18th century (see Ming Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, pp. 106-107, pl. 105).

While the original function of the metal prototype was unknown to the Qianlong Emperor, and the piece recorded in the Xiqing gujian is merely described as a ‘Han dynasty ornament’, in the poem the Emperor infers that he believed it to be a ‘measuring square’, like those mentioned in the Daxue [The Great Learning] chapter of the Li ji [Book of Rites]. One of the five classics in Confucian literature, originally composed between the late Warring States period (475-221 BC) and the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220), the Liji advocates that ‘when the sovereign behaves to his aged, as the aged should be behaved to, the people become filial; when the sovereign behaves to his elders, as the elders should be behaved to, the people learn brotherly submission; when the sovereign treats compassionately the young and helpless, the people do the same. Thus the ruler has a principle with which, as with a measuring square, he may regulate his conduct’. This piece was thus conceived as a measuring instrument that could also provide moral guidance to a benevolent ruler by virtue of its material and association to China’s past. The inscribed poem, composed by the Qianlong Emperor, laments the misdemeanors of previous rulers, including Yang Huo, a rebellious nobleman of the State of Lu in the late 6th century BC, who was notorious for murder, manipulation and thievery.

Jade ornaments of this type, with its movable parts, are exceedingly complicated to design and carve, and accordingly extremely rare, although another very similar example, carved from spinach-green jade, also from the collection of Florence and Herbert Irving and later in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is offered in this sale, lot 86. Another object of this form and carved from white jade, also with a Qianlong fanggu (‘in imitation of antiquity’) mark, in the Tianjin Museum, is included in Bai Wenyuan ed., Tianjin Bowuguan cangyu [Jade collection of the Tianjin Museum], Beijing, 2012, pl. 177; another lacking the poem, in the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 54; a third was sold at Bonhams London, 15th May 2014, lot 182; and a spinach-green example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated in Ming Wilson, op. cit., pl. 104.