Chinese Columnar Stone Seal with Seated Figure

Designer necklace composed of large irregular round agate beads and fusiform banded agate beads. 127 grams, 54 cm long



Acquired 1970s onwards. Private collection of Michael O'Hara, Cambridgeshire, UK. Ex private collection of Benjamin Hyde-Smith, Hertfordshire, UK.

The cylindrical-bodied soapstone seal engraved with landscape scenes and characters within a roundel, dragon clutching flaming pearl finial carved in the round; seal to base formed as a flower head with central character. 697 grams, 15 cm high



Acquired from a UK auction house. Property of an Essex gentleman.

Worn smooth on the upper face; the substantial rectangular 'brick' stamped to the side edges: '大一甲 袁洪德造 da yi jia, Yuan Hongde zao (size of the brick, made by Yuan Hongde) 督造官江南蘇州府知府魁元 (under the supervisor Kui Yuan of Jiangnang, Suzhou) 乾隆十八年成造细料二尺二寸見方金磚 (18th year of Qianlong (1754), square gold brick)'; accompanied by a low wooden table frame. 104.3 kg total, 72 x 72 x 37 cm



with the owner's family since the early 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11916-204597.

Also known as jinzhuan, Golden Bricks are produced from a finite iron-rich soil, crafted by a team of people over a period of 2-3 years, using a process involving 29 distinct procedures. The bricks produce a metallic sound when induced to do so and have an internal structure which is so fine that the pores of the clay can hardly be seen. Historically, golden bricks were reserved for the use of emperors and the construction of their palaces, first appearing during the reign of Emperor Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), produced in Suzhou under imperial order to be used for paving the floors of the imperial palaces, monasteries and mausoleums in Beijing; they are witnesses to history and embody the wisdom of the ancients.