The imperial seal, which is called “Yuxi” in Chinese, represents the highest power of the country in ancient China. It is said that the first imperial seal was created when Qin Shi Huang destroyed the remaining Warring States and united China under the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).
In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), emperors made many imperial jade seals. Let’s have a look at some of the expensive Qing imperial seals that have gone under the hammer at auctions.
![]() |
An imperial jade seal of Qian Long Emperor sold for 106,174,260 yuan ($15,567,360) at the Sotheby’s Hong Kong 2010 Autumn Auctions. (Photo / artron.net) |
![]() |
An imperial jade seal of Yong Zheng Emperor sold for 29,011,600 yuan ($4,528,640) at the Sotheby’s Hong Kong 2011 Autumn Auctions. (Photo / artron.net) |