The clip is carved with an archaistic bird on one side and the reverse has an incised and gilded inscription, Qianlong yu yong (for the personal use of Qianlong), followed by Zhang Zongcang fang Wu Zhen biyi (Zhang Zongcang in Imitation of Wu Zhen's style).

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2¹⁄₂ in. (6.3 cm.) long

E. & J. Frankel, New York, 1992.

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Lot Essay

Jade clips such as the present example are used to hold painting scrolls in place. Paintings in the Qing Court Collection are often found accompanied by such clips, carved with a gilt inscription on the back to indicate the specific painting it accompanies. Examples of such clips were sold with their respective paintings at Christie's New York, Important Chinese Art from the Fujita Museum, 15 March 2017, lots 507-512.

The inscription on the present clip indicates that it accompanied a painting by Zhang Zongcang (1686-1756), titled Fang Wu Zhen biyi. Brought to the court by the Qianlong Emperor himself during his southern inspection tour of 1751, Zhang was one of the Emperor’s favorite court painters. His time at the Qing court only lasted 4 years, as he retired to his hometown in 1755 and passed away the following year. During his short tenure at court, he painted a remarkable 172 paintings.

A painting by Zhang titled Mo Wu Zhen biyi (Copy of Wu Zhen’s style) is recorded in Shiqu Baoji xubian (Shiqu Catalogue of the Imperial Collections, Series II). Another painting by Zhang, titled Fang Wu Zhen shan shui (In Imitation of Wu Zhen’s Mountainous Landscape), is in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, collection no. 1-3716.