HONG KONG, CHINA — On April 6 2016, Sotheby’s is primed to sell an important Chinese seal that belonged to the Kangxi Emperor in their ‘Kangxi – Emperorship and Power’ sale. The Seal of the Mandate of Heaven is the largest and most powerful ever carved for the Kangxi Emperor, the longest reigning monarch of China. Sotheby’s says, “The Mandate of Heaven is the philosophical tenet that Heaven granted emperors the right to rule based on their ability to govern and their righteousness and was used throughout the history of China to validate and legitimize the rule of the emperors. During Kangxi’s reign, the seal was at all times kept in the Palace of Ultimate Purity, where emperors entertained and a major venue for their policymaking.”

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