Olivia Xu
Associate Specialist
Lot 182
A RARE IMPERIAL NOBLEWOMAN'S TURQUOISE-GROUND GAUZE SILK 'DRAGON' ROBE, JIFU 19th century
3 November 2022, 12:30 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £24,225 inc. premium
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Edward Luper
Specialist, Chinese Works of Art
A RARE IMPERIAL NOBLEWOMAN'S TURQUOISE-GROUND GAUZE SILK 'DRAGON' ROBE, JIFU
19th century
Meticulously worked on the front and back in satin stitch with nine blue writhing, five-clawed dragons pursuing flaming pearls amidst dense trailing scrolls of ruyi clouds interspersed with bats and the Auspicious Emblems, all above the terrestrial diagram and lishui stripe at the hem, picked out in vibrant shades of blue, yellow, purple, red and coral, reserved on a brilliant sea-green ground, the matching dark-blue-ground collar and cuffs worked with further dragons amidst further bats, clouds and waves. 133.5cm (52 1/2in) long.
Meticulously worked on the front and back in satin stitch with nine blue writhing, five-clawed dragons pursuing flaming pearls amidst dense trailing scrolls of ruyi clouds interspersed with bats and the Auspicious Emblems, all above the terrestrial diagram and lishui stripe at the hem, picked out in vibrant shades of blue, yellow, purple, red and coral, reserved on a brilliant sea-green ground, the matching dark-blue-ground collar and cuffs worked with further dragons amidst further bats, clouds and waves. 133.5cm (52 1/2in) long.
Footnotes
十九世紀 綠松石地納紗繡龍紋吉服袍
Provenance: an English private collection
來源：英國私人收藏
Delicately woven with nine blue five-clawed dragons pursuing the flaming pearls of wisdom, the present robe is a rare example of festive garments worn by the highest-ranking female members of the Qing society.
Robes tailored in turquoise silk are extremely rare and appear to have been reserved for the use of Imperial consorts during the Qing dynasty; see L.Wrigglesworth, The Imperial Robe, Berkeley, 1990, p.95.
Robes decorated with designs drawn from the repertoire of Court symbols, such as the dragons, reinforced the privilege of an educated and sophisticated elite focused on the power of textiles to convey social status to the viewers. The quintessential symbols of Imperial power, five-clawed dragons embodied royalty and dominion and expressed the visual metaphor of the good ruler who behaved wisely for the well being of his subjects.
Compare with a related turquoise ground robe for an Imperial consort, 19th century, illustrated by L.Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, Berkeley, 1990, p.96, pl.76. See also a related turquoise-ground 'dragon' robe, 19th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc.no.30.75.99.
A related turquoise-ground gauze silk 'dragon' robe, Daoguang, was sold at Bonhams London, 12 May 2022.