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The Qianlong Emperor's Three-Connected Seals - View 3

The Palace Museum

The Palace Museum
Beijing, China

The left, square seal is inscribed with four characters that are translated as "Qianlong’s Brushwork" (Qianlong chenhan). The middle, rounded seal is inscribed with two characters translated as "Rejoice in Heaven" (Le tian, which alludes to an optimistic approach to life). The right, square seal is inscribed with four characters translated as "Wholly Pure, Exclusively One" (Weijing weiyi, which is alternately translated as "Be Pure, Be of One [Mind]"). The chained seals were made for the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty after he retired from his imperial duties and abdicated the throne to his son. The three seals and chains were carved from a piece of stone (known as tianhuang, lit. "field-yellow"). The seals reveal the foremost skills of the craftsman. Often used by the Qianlong Emperor to mark his own paintings or calligraphic works, the seals are among the most exquisite of his imperial seals and were treasured by subsequent emperors.

full view of the item (with impressions)

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  • Title: The Qianlong Emperor's Three-Connected Seals - View 3
  • Physical Dimensions: left seal: height: 1 cm, length: 2.6 cm; middle seal: height: 1cm, length: 3 cm, width: 2.3 cm; right seal: height: 1 cm, length 2.6 cm
  • Provenance: it had been a private seal of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-1795) before stolen from the imperial palace. No one knew its whereabouts until it reappeared on the birthday party of Puyi (the last ruler of the Qing dynasty who abdicated in Februray, 1912 and was expelled from the Forbidden City by the republican government in 1917) as a birthday gift by someone serving in his Manchukuo administration in Manchuria. After the founding of People's Republic of China in 1949, Puyi turned in the three-connected seals along with a number of other personal items to the government. By allocation, the Palace Museum was entitled to select part of them, including this elaborately carved seals to complement its permanent collection.
  • Type: seals
  • Medium: tianhuang stone
  • Dynasty: Qianlong reign (1736-1795), Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
The Palace Museum

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