China, 1820-1920. The Emperor seated cross-legged on an intricately carved dragon throne, wearing a dragon robe and a long, beaded necklace as well as a finely incised headdress. The ivory carving is mounted on a fitted hardwood base with incised and silver-inlaid scroll motifs. (2)

Condition: Good condition with some wear, minor age cracks, small chips and losses, slight warping.
Provenance: Koller Auktionen, Zürich, May 2011. An old French private collection, acquired from the above. A copy of the original invoice accompanies this lot.

CITES: This lot is accompanied by a copy of a CITES re-export certificate associated with the aforementioned auction purchase, Certificate Number 11CH049554, issued on May 31 2011, expired 29 November 2011, stamped and signed by the Swiss CITES Management Authority.


Weight: 1,480 g in total
Dimensions: Height 23.5 cm (the figure) and 27.5 cm (incl. base)

The queue hairstyle indicates that this must be a Qing dynasty emperor (the queue being the traditional hairstyle of the Manchu ruling class), while the beard and facial features are clearly those of the Yongzheng Emperor.

The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), born Yinzhen, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigned from 1722 to 1735. A hard-working ruler, the Yongzheng Emperor’s main goal was to create an effective government at minimal expense. Like his father, the Kangxi Emperor, the Yongzheng Emperor used military force to preserve the dynasty’s position. His reign was known for being efficient and vigorous. Even late into the Qing dynasty, he remained a very popular Emperor as his era was a period of peace and prosperity.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a related pair of slightly larger figures, depicting an Emperor and Empress, sold by Bonham’s London (New Bond Street) in Export and Decorative Art of the China Trade on 9 March 2004, lot 123, for GBP £11,950.

This item contains or is made from elephant ivory and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Please note that in compliance with EU regulation effective January 19th, 2022, all items carved from elephant ivory before 1947 must carry a legal trade permit issued by the Austrian ministry of trade, or any other appropriate authority within the European Union. For this reason, any sale of such item can only be concluded after such permit has been granted. All payments made prior to the issuance of the respective permit will be held in escrow until the application for the permit has been approved. Please note that according to EU regulation it may take up to 3 months until the permit has been granted. In case the permit is declined, or not granted after 3 months, the payment will be returned to the client immediately.

象牙雕雍正坐像，清末民初
中國，1820-1920。皇帝盤腿坐在雕刻繁複的龍紋寶座上，身穿龍袍，長串珠項鍊以及精美的冠飾。 象牙雕刻被安裝在帶有刻花和銀飾滾動圖案的硬木底座上。

品相：品相良好和一些磨損，輕微年代裂紋，一處小開裂和缺損，輕微捲曲。
來源：蘇黎世Koller 拍賣行，2011年5月。一個法國私人收藏，購於上述拍賣。附原始交易發票。

重量：縂1,480 克
尺寸：像高23.5 厘米，總高27.5 厘米