Staff finial in the shape of a dove

A dove holding a jewel in its beak perches on a C curve, which continues below to form the horns of a sheep. The wing feathers are finely worked, and rows of tiny hatch marks indicate feathers on the bird's body. The gilt cloisonné base, of excellent workmanship, is from the Qianlong period.

The design of this piece is inspired by a woodcut illustration of a Han dynasty dove staff finial from Xiqing gujian, an illustrated and annotated catalogue of bronze utensils and other objects of antiquity preserved in the Qing imperial palace. This catalogue was printed in 1749 under the auspices of the Qianlong emperor. He actually had the Han prototype copied in jade, although the original stand was of hardwood inlaid with gold. This piece, now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, bears an imperial poem dated 1774 incised on its C curve. In his poem, the Qianlong emperor alludes to the bird finials given to old people during the Han dynasty (Chang Lituan 1997, [page no.?], plate 4.