Imperial seal ‘Mandate of Heaven’ set to break auction records in HK

A 17th-century seal, the largest and most powerful carved for the Kangxi Emperor and which Sotheby's calls the most important Chinese historical item ever to appear at their auction, was previewed ahead of its sale next month by the auction house.

"This is a seal that really crystalizes the 'Mandate of Heaven', the mandate to rule," said Sotheby's deputy Asia chairman Nicolas Chow. "And it was used by Emperor Kangxi, who was the longest reigning monarch throughout the history of China. It is really a seal that says that I am...the legitimate ruler of this empire. It is incredibly important and I would say on a par with the most important works of art you would find in the Forbidden City today."

Chow added that the concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" is still "very much relevant."

"Whenever you have a natural disaster there is still that sense, for example, when that great earthquake struck China in the 1970s, there was a sense that maybe Mao Zedong had lost the 'Mandate of Heaven'. It is a concept that is still of incredible importance in China today," he said. — Reuters