Page 142 - 2020 December 10 Christie's Paris Arts of Asia Chinese Art

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ROBE NON COUPEE EN SOIE BLEU NUIT BRODEE, LONGGUA
CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, EPOQUE QIANLONG-JIAQING (1736-1820)
Le coupon est brodé de huit médaillons circulaires abritant des dragons à
l’or sur fond bleu nuit. Les quatre dragons au centre sont représentés de face
tandis que les dragons en partie basse sont de profil. La partie inférieure
est brodée du diagramme terrestre parcouru des emblèmes bouddhiques
enrubannés, les croix svastika ont été retirées.
Longueur: 316 cm. (124Ω in.) ; largeur: 142 cm. (56 in.)
€30,000-50,000 US$36,000-58,000
£28,000-45,000
AN UNCUT `MIDNIGHT BLUE’ EMBROIDERED SILK YARDAGE FOR A
WOMAN’S SURCOAT, LONGGUA
CHINA, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG-JIAQING PERIOD (1736-1820)
清乾隆/嘉慶 藍地彩雲團龍紋龍袍料

The present yardage would have been made to be woven into a high-ranking
woman’s surcoat, longgua, which would have been worn over a longpao, or
semi-formal dragon robe, by an empress or high-ranking imperial consort. The
Huangchao liqi tushi (Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the
Imperial Court) promulgated by the Qianlong Emperor in 1759, specified the
styles of longgua for court women of the highest ranks including the Empress
Dowager, the Empress, and imperial consorts of the first, second and third
rank.
The empress dowager and empress were permitted to wear two types of
longgua. The first had eight roundels displaying front-facing long dragons on
the chest, back and shoulders with profile dragons at the lower front and back
of the coat, above wave motifs on the hem and sleeves. Imperial consorts of
the first, second, and third degree were also permitted to wear the first type of
longgua. An example of this style, with eight roundels of five-clawed dragons
with wave borders at the hem and sleeve edges can be found on a manuscript
of the Huangchao liqi tushi in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum,
ink and color on silk, 1736-1795, accession number 868-1896. The script above
the robe states that the robe was made for Imperial concubines of the first
rank. The present lot is an example of this type of longgua.

A Jiaqing period (1796-1820) midnight-blue gauze
woman’s surcoat, longgua, from the collection of
General Joseph W. Stilwell sold at Christie’s
New York, 22-23 March 2018, lot 979. This
surcoat is from a similar period and also
features profile dragons on the lower
registers clutching flaming pearls.
A Qianlong-Jiaqing period (1736-
1820) kesi surcoat of a similar style
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
2 December 2015, lot 3127.

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