Ruyi scepter with poem composed by the Qianlong Emperor

China

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This scepter was fashioned from bamboo veneer, a special technique where the exterior layer of a bamboo stalk is used to create a soft and smooth appearance resembling boxwood. Such works were popular in the imperial workshop because of their appeal to the Qianlong Emperor. The back of this scepter was incised with a poem composed by the emperor in appreciation of the bamboo scepter as an ideal literati object: “[The bamboo scepter] loves to stay where only witty conversa­tion takes place, and feels like meeting real gentlemen.”

Ruyi scepter with poem composed by the Qianlong Emperor, Bamboo veneer, silk, China

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Ruyi scepter with poem composed by the Qianlong Emperor, Bamboo veneer, silk, China
Ruyi scepter with poem composed by the Qianlong Emperor, Bamboo veneer, silk, China
Ruyi scepter with poem composed by the Qianlong Emperor, Bamboo veneer, silk, China
Ruyi scepter with poem composed by the Qianlong Emperor, Bamboo veneer, silk, China

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