


An imperial seal used by Emperor Kangxi will be up for auction at Sotheby’s next month, with the estimated grand starting price of US$15 million.
The Seal of the Mandate of Heaven is the largest and most powerful ever carved for the Kangxi Emperor, who himself was the greatest and longest-reigning monarch of China.
Carved for Emperor Kangxi, who ruled from 1661 to 1722, the seal bears the inscription “Jingtian Qinmin,” or: “respect heaven and diligently serve the people.” This phrase attests to the ancient Chinese philosophy that heaven grants authority to an emperor if he serves his people virtuously.
“Heaven’s will is the people’s will, so you have to respect your subjects to respect heaven,” said Nicolas Chow, Sotheby’s deputy chairman of Asia. “It’s a principle that still reminds everyone that the state ideology throughout most of Chinese history is Confucianism. It centers around the idea of benevolence and righteousness.”
Chow said Sotheby’s had auctioned a few imperial seals made of jade before, but none of them comparable to Kangxi’s in terms of size, material and historical importance. Unlike Chinese porcelain, which has a long auction record, imperial seals have only started getting much attention in the past decade.
Besides the seal, Sotheby’s will include two other objects in a joint auction. The first is a smaller seal of Kangxi made from soapstone. The second is one of only two copies of a catalogue recording 119 of Kangxi’s seals, the other copy of which is stored in Beijing’s Palace Museum.
According to Chow, all three objects come from different private collectors.

Beautiful Kapok flowers bloom in Hainan
Eye-catching beauties in Chunxi Road of Chengdu
Wedding pictures of Wu Qilong, Liu Shishi released
One of world's largest military drills in Saudi Arabia
Iron lady or goddess? Sportswomen's dress show
Versatile female soldiers in military camp
Top beauties in Chinese provinces
Follow me to my Weibo
Chinese ships keep close watch on U.S. Navy aircraft carrier strike group in S. China Sea
Top 20 hottest women in the world in 2014
Top 10 hardest languages to learn
10 Chinese female stars with most beautiful faces
China’s Top 10 Unique Bridges, Highways and Roads
Batman and Superman fight for the Chinese fans’ love... and their money
Locke denies US reviews target Chinese firms despite rise in probes
Chinese surrogate buyers go on shopping sprees in Japan
Trump opens Pandora’s box in USDay|Week