44. IMPORTANT ET TRÈS RARE SCEPTRE RUYI EN PORCELAINE BLANC DE CHINE, DEHUA XVIIe/XVIIe siècle A VERY RARE LARGE DEHUA RUYI-SCEPTRE 17th/18th century Of conventional form, elaborately and naturalistically modelled as a gnarled branch entwined with stems of lingzhi, the ruyi-shaped head with a small qilong emerging, the terminal similarly gnarled and knotted, entirely covered with an unctuous creamy white glaze, walnut stand. 38cm (15in) long. (2). 十七/十八世紀 德化窰白釉靈芝如意 Provenance: Collection of Joachim Schlotterbeck (1926-2007), Würzburg, acquired from his collection in 1995 Published and Exhibited: Daniel Suebsman and Daniela Antoni, Kangxi - Porcelain Treasures of the Kangxi Period, Düsseldorf, 2015, cat.no.132 The Dancing Dragon / China Contemporary, Hetjens Museum, Düsseldorf, 19 July 2015 - 17 February 2016, no.132 來源: 符茲堡Joachim Schlotterbeck（1926-2007）珍藏 現藏家於1995年得自上述來源 出版及展覽: Daniel Suebsman及Daniela Antoin合著，《Kangxi - Porcelain Treasures of the Kangxi Period》，杜塞道夫，2015年，編號132 《The Dancing Dragon / China Contemporary》，黑提恩斯博物館，杜塞道夫，2015年7月19日至2016年2月17日，編號132 With its soft white glaze, this large sceptre is likely to have been made in imitation of ivory. Blanc de Chine was also known as «ivory white» (xiangya bai) in China. The Kangxi Emperor's lifting of the ban on maritime trade in 1684 allowed Chinese imports of ivory from South-East Asia to burgeon once again, ushering in a heyday of carved art in the country. Given that Fujian was a centre of ivory trading and art handicraft, it stood to reason that a process of creative interaction would ensue. The present sceptre is rare and no other ruyi sceptre made in Dehua porcelain appears to be recorded. Among the precious objects depicted on the guwan tu, now in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, are several creamy white ruyi sceptres although it is not clear whether they are made of ivory or porcelain, compare the illustration in Evelyn S. Rawski and Jessica Rawson, China. The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, pp.252-255, no.169, detail p. 254.