12th Sep, 2025 11:00
Three Single Owner Collections of Asian Art
8
A GILT-BRONZE ‘PAVILION’ SEAL, THREE KINGDOMS PERIOD- SUI DYNASTY
Sold for €1,430
including Buyer's Premium
China, 220-618. The seal in form of a pavilion with pointed roof terminating in a spherical finial, supported on four columns, and raised on a square platform.
Inscriptions: The seal face engraved with a four-character inscription ‘Pingxi jiangjun’ [‘the general who pacifies the west’].
Provenance: French private collection, 2018. Collection of Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above. A Dutch art historian and collector, Dr. Koos de Jong has worked across several cultural institutions in the Netherlands from 1976, serving as the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch between 1999-2009, before retiring in 2009. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the modern era. His scholarly interests expanded to Chinese material culture, culminating in the 2013 publication of Dragon & Horse: Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond, a pioneering study on Chinese equestrian gear. Continuing this line of inquiry, his more recent book published in 2021, Small China: Early Chinese Miniatures, explores the largely overlooked world of Chinese miniature objects, combining archaeological research with art historical insight.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear, casting irregularities, rubbing to the gilt, some corrosion, and malachite encrustations.
Weight: 69.7 g
Dimensions: Height 4.2 cm
Miniatures that represent architectural structures are rare. Usually they show temples, pagodas, and other Buddhist and Daoist buildings for worship.
The title ‘Pingxi General’ was one of four prestigious military ranks collectively known as the Four Ping Generals (Siping). First established during the Three Kingdoms period, this system became widely adopted throughout the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern dynasties, before being abolished in the Sui dynasty. The term ‘Pingxi’ translates to ‘General Who Pacifies the West’, and was one of four titles organized around the cardinal directions, each entrusted with military campaigns and regional control. The full quartet comprised the Pingxi (West-Pacifying), Pindong (East-Pacifying), Pingnan (South-Pacifying), and Pingbei (North-Pacifying) generals, all charged with overseeing conquests and maintaining frontier stability.
Literature comparison:
Compare a bronze turtle seal with a related inscription, Pingdong jiangjun zhang, 3.1 cm tall, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, accession number 新00025700.
China, 220-618. The seal in form of a pavilion with pointed roof terminating in a spherical finial, supported on four columns, and raised on a square platform.
Inscriptions: The seal face engraved with a four-character inscription ‘Pingxi jiangjun’ [‘the general who pacifies the west’].
Provenance: French private collection, 2018. Collection of Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above. A Dutch art historian and collector, Dr. Koos de Jong has worked across several cultural institutions in the Netherlands from 1976, serving as the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch between 1999-2009, before retiring in 2009. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the modern era. His scholarly interests expanded to Chinese material culture, culminating in the 2013 publication of Dragon & Horse: Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond, a pioneering study on Chinese equestrian gear. Continuing this line of inquiry, his more recent book published in 2021, Small China: Early Chinese Miniatures, explores the largely overlooked world of Chinese miniature objects, combining archaeological research with art historical insight.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear, casting irregularities, rubbing to the gilt, some corrosion, and malachite encrustations.
Weight: 69.7 g
Dimensions: Height 4.2 cm
Miniatures that represent architectural structures are rare. Usually they show temples, pagodas, and other Buddhist and Daoist buildings for worship.
The title ‘Pingxi General’ was one of four prestigious military ranks collectively known as the Four Ping Generals (Siping). First established during the Three Kingdoms period, this system became widely adopted throughout the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern dynasties, before being abolished in the Sui dynasty. The term ‘Pingxi’ translates to ‘General Who Pacifies the West’, and was one of four titles organized around the cardinal directions, each entrusted with military campaigns and regional control. The full quartet comprised the Pingxi (West-Pacifying), Pindong (East-Pacifying), Pingnan (South-Pacifying), and Pingbei (North-Pacifying) generals, all charged with overseeing conquests and maintaining frontier stability.
Literature comparison:
Compare a bronze turtle seal with a related inscription, Pingdong jiangjun zhang, 3.1 cm tall, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, accession number 新00025700.
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