A SANDALWOOD ABSTINENCE PLAQUE, LATE QING DYNASTY China, 19^th to earlier 20^th century. Carved with archaistic décor and two characters reading ‘zhai jie’ on one side, which may be translated as ‘abstinence’. The other side similarly inscribed in Manchu script. Attached to yellow fabric strings with miniature pearls and rose quartzes.

Provenance: From a reputed French private collection.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear, minuscule nibbles to the rim and fine naturally grown patina.

Weight: 14 g
Dimensions: Length 6.3 cm (excl. tassels)

Small abstinence plaques, inscribed with characters in Mandarin and Manchu meaning ‘abstinence’, were a physical sign of the ceremonial requirement for abstinence before the worship of ancestors, the Heavens, or other deities. The required abstinence involved refraining from eating meat and fragrant herbs such as onions, chives and garlic, consuming alcohol, and from any intimate acts, and usually lasted for three days.

Devotional in origin, the small plaque would have functioned as a private aide-memoire to the wearer to abstain from earthly pleasures but became in itself a thing of beauty to be admired publicly and to enhance the status of the wearer.

Literature comparison: Compare a related sandalwood abstinence plaque, of slightly larger size (6.7 cm long), also dated to the Qing dynasty, at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, on 18 January 2022, lot 2020.

清末檀木齋戒牌
中國，十九世紀至二十世紀初。雕刻仿古紋飾，一側“齋戒”二字，另一面刻滿文。掛繩上有小珍珠和玫瑰石英裝飾。

來源：法國私人收藏。
品相：狀況極佳，輕微磨損，邊緣有小塊，包漿自然。

重量：14 克
尺寸：長 6.3 厘米(不含流蘇)