AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE DATED AND SIGNED BAMBOO RUYI SCEPTREWu Xiang, dated Yongzheng cyclical xinhai year, corresponding to 1731 and of the periodThe sceptre elegantly modelled with alingzhi-shaped head, forming from an internodal membrane with a manipulated segment of the culm, incorporating the signs of a further intermodal segment as the shaft, inscribed on the shaft with two poetic lines by the Jin dynasty poet Tao Yuanming in seal script, the lower section of the shaft followed by an inscription bearing a Yongzhengxinhai cyclical date, corresponding to 1731, with the carver's signature and two seals, fitted box.48.5cm (19in) longProvenance: 清雍正辛亥年(1731) 竹雕題款如意「吳襄」款Provenance:The Feng Wen Tang CollectionChristie's Hong Kong, 3 June 2015, lot 2838來源:奉文堂舊藏香港佳士得，2015年6月3日，拍品2838The present lot is a magnificent example of Yongzheng period craftsmanbining careful selection of the bamboo with exquisite workman exemplified in the elegant proportions and subtle carving.The couplet is taken from the fourteenth a series of twenty poems entitled Yinjiu ('On Drinking Wine') by Tao Yuanming (365-427). It reads:Bujue zhi you wu,anzhi wu wei gui不覺知有我安知物為貴which may be translated as:'Unconscious of knowing I have a self,How should I know such a thing is noble?'The poetic lines are followed by Yongzheng xinhai Zhongqiu bayue shibari lushi Baishan Laoxiansheng zhengzhi 雍正辛亥中秋八月十八日錄事白山老先生正之 ('Recorded on the eighteenth day of the eighth month, Zhongqiu festival in the xinhai year of the Yongzheng era for the correction of elder gentleman Baishan'), followed by the signature, Jiuhua sou Wu Xiang 九華叟吴襄 ('Old Fellow of Mount Nine Glories, Wu Xiang') and two seals of the inscriber, Wu Xiang zhi yin 吴襄之印 ('seal of Wu Xiang') and Xuanshui 懸水 ('Hanging water').The inscriber, or patron who provided the calligraphic exemplar, is Wu Xiang. zi Qiyun, hao Xianshui ('Hanging Water'), was a native of Mount Jiuhua (Nine Glories), Qingyang county, Anhui province. He passed the highest imperial exam and became a jinshi (to be presented [to the emperor] scholar) in the fifty-second year of the Kangxi era, which corresponds to 1713. He was then appointed to the prestigious Hanlin Academy as an editor and took part inpiling important publications, including the Mingshi (History of Ming) and Baqing zhi (General Choriography of the Eight Banners), and was eventually promoted to Libu shangshu (Minister of Board of Rites). He died in the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng era. Three collections of his own poetry include Xuanshui shiji ('Poetry collection by Hanging Water'), Xilao tang shichao ('Draft poetry from the Hall Bestowed on the Aged'), and Meihua shi baishou ('One Hundred poems on Prunus Blossoms').此竹雕如意上刻詩文取自陶淵明（陶潛）（365-427年）《飲酒》二十首之十四：不覺知有我安知物為貴意思是説，（酒後）連自己都忘了，又怎麼知道事務輕重呢？吳襄可能是在竹如意上雕刻此詩者，也可能是竹雕的贊助人，親寫詩文供雕匠銘刻於如意之上。吳襄字七雲，號懸水,安徽九華山青人陽人, 康熙五十二年（公元1713年）中進士，授翰林...