A MANCHU OFFICIAL’S BRONZE SEAL, QIANLONG MARK AND PERIOD, DATED 1747 BY INSCRIPTION, THE SEAL FACE INSCRIBED IN MANCHU AND CHINESE
Of rectangular form with a tapering columnar handle. The top and base of the seal are inscribed in Manchu and Chinese, while the two long sides bear exclusively Chinese script, numbering and dating the seal.


Inscriptions:

To the top and the seal face, in Manchu and Chinese: ‘Zhang jia kou tai zhan you lu jun li bu zao’ [The official in charge of] Zhangjiakou, commissioned by the Ministry of Rites.
To the first long side, in Chinese ‘Number 1336 of Qian’.
To the second long side, in Chinese ‘On the […] day of the sixth month in the twelfth year of the Qianlong period’.


Provenance:
West Berkshire, United Kingdom, local trade. By repute acquired from a private estate.

Condition:
Good condition with expected old wear, some casting irregularities, corrosion, occasional scratches, few minuscule nicks, and small dents. Remnants of red seal paste. The bronze with a fine, naturally grown, dark patina.

Weight: 1,082 g
Dimensions: Size 8.9 x 8.8 x 6 cm


Zhangjiakou
, also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a city in northwestern Hebei province. Since ancient times, it has been a stronghold of military significance and vied for by multiple sides, hence nicknamed the ‘Northern Gate of Beijing’. Due to its strategic position on several important transport arteries, it is a critical node for travel between Hebei and Inner Mongolia and connecting northwest China, Mongolia, and Beijing. Dajingmen, an important gate and junction of the Great Wall of China is located here. From 1727 it was a major station for the Kyakhta trade between Russia and China. In early autumn long lines of camels would come in from all quarters for the conveyance of the tea chests from ‘Kalgan’ (Zhangjiakou) to Kyakhta across the Gobi Desert. Each caravan usually made three journeys in the winter. In the 19th century, some Russian merchants had permanent residences and warehouses just outside the gate.


The Ministry of Rites
(Libu) was one of the Six Ministries of government in Imperial China. It was first formed during the Tang dynasty in the 7th century and lasted for well over a thousand years, until the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. It was responsible for state ceremonies, rituals, and sacrifices, overseeing the registers for Buddhist and Daoist priesthoods and even the reception of envoys from tributary states. It also managed imperial examinations as well as China's foreign relations prior to the establishment of the Zongli Yamen in 1861.


Literature comparison:

Compare a closely related bronze Manchu official’s seal of Zhongzheng dian Nianjin chu tu Ji (Chanting place of Zhongzheng hall), 9.1 x 5.6 x 5.6 cm, dated 1729, illustrated in Chan Hou Seng, The Life of Emperor Qian Long, Macao Museum of Art, 2002.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 15 October 2021, lot 53
Price: EUR 9,480 or approx.
EUR 11,000
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze Manchu official’s seal, Guanfang, dated 1796 by inscription, Jiaqing mark and period, the seal face inscribed in Manchu and Chinese
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and inscriptions. Note the gilding, later date, and the size (11.1 x 9.7 x 6.3 cm).




乾隆款及年代
1747年清代滿族官員銅印


銅質精良，方形，圓柱鈕。印台四周及台面相間鐫刻滿文，漢文。


款識
：

乾字一千三百三十六號：乾隆十二年六月日；張家口台站右路軍第三臺參領圖記；禮部造


來源：
英國西伯克郡，當地貿易，據説來自知名私人遺產。

品相：
狀況良好，有磨損、一些鑄造不規則、腐蝕、局部劃痕、一些微小的刻痕和小凹痕。紅色印章殘餘。銅印有細膩、自然的包漿。

重量：1,082 克
尺寸：8.9 x 8.8 x 6 厘米


文獻比較：

比較一件非常相近的1729年銅製「中正殿念經處圖記」，9.1 x 5.6 x 5.6 厘米，見Chan Hou Seng，《懷抱古今‧乾隆御筆》，澳門藝術博物館，2002年。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：Galerie Zacke，維也納，2021年10月15日，lot 53
價格：EUR 9,480（相當於今日
EUR 11,000
）
描述：嘉慶内務府三旗護軍營參領關防
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形和款識。請注意鎏金，年代較晚和尺寸 (11.1 x 9.7 x 6.3 厘米)。