Yvett Klein
Senior Specialist
Lot 149
A child's patchwork and embroidered festival jacket, baijiayi Guangxu period
13 March – 3 April 2025, 12:00 AEDT
Online, SydneySold for AU$11,685 inc. premium
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A child's patchwork and embroidered festival jacket, baijiayi
Guangxu period
60.5cm long, 85.0cm wide
60.5cm long, 85.0cm wide
Footnotes
Provenance:
From the collection of the family of Welsh lace manufacturers, acquired circa 1915
Linda Wrigglesworth, London, 21 Oct 1999 (receipt)
清光緒 鍛片拼縫平綉百花百果「金玉滿堂、狀元及第」百家衣
傳承：
約于1915年間由威爾士蕾絲紡織家族入藏
倫敦 Linda Wrigglesworth，1999年10月21日（收據）
Baijiayi, hundred-family cloth, is a traditional folk custom in infant care. It involves collecting small fabric scraps from neighbours, relatives, and friends to sew into a garment for the child. This is believed to bring blessings from a hundred families, ensuring the child's health and a smooth path to adulthood.
Similar children's garments can be found in The Cixi Exhibition: China's Hidden Century 1796-1912, the British Museum, London: 2023, p.224, pl.4.73. Compare with the jacket in the exhibition, the current lot is not only embroidered on both the front and back with auspicious phrases, but also adorned with cut floral or fruit motif in each satin patch. These embellishments enhance an otherwise simple child's garment with wishes for wealth, fortune, and prosperity.
百家衣，舊時民間育嬰習俗，要向眾鄰親友討取零星碎布， 縫成一件「百家衣」給小孩穿上，謂能得百家之福，小孩少病少災，易長成人。類似童衣，見大英博物館慈禧展圖錄，The Cixi Exhibition: China's Hidden Century 1796-1912，the British Museum, London:2023, 頁224，圖版4.73。相較展中童衣，本件童衣不僅前後平綉「金玉滿堂、狀元及第，長命富貴、五子登科」吉言，每格菱形緞片中更飾百花百果折枝紋樣，讓一件普通童衣平添富貴吉祥願景。