Page 122 - Sotheby's Fine Chinese Art NYC September 2023

630

A BLUE-GROUND SILK BROCADE ‘DRAGON’
PANEL
LATE MING DYNASTY
framed
Height 48¾ in., 124 cm; Length26¾ in., 68 cm
PROVENANCE
Geng Zhi Tang Collection.
A superb example of gold woven jin brocade produced
during the Ming dynasty, the present piece depicts a dragon
playfully in pursuit of a flaming pearl. The development
of techniques, along with stabilized social and economic
conditions and the establishment of a centralized textile
industry, resulted in the availability of fine silk productions
during the period. Gold thread was woven into the fabrics,
creating a dazzling visual effect that was favored by
members of the imperial court as well as high-ranking
officials. Due to the complexity and high labor costs involved
in its production, along with the incorporation of precious
materials to the textile, gold woven jin brocade became a
luxurious and expensive commodity. Historical records from
the Jiajing period indicate that a piece of woven gold satin
was valued at three and a half taels of silver.
Compare an uncut dark-blue robe material with mang
design, attributed to late Ming period, in the China National
Silk Museum, Hangzhou, illustrated in Zhao Feng, Zhixiu
zhenpin / Treasures in Silk, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 09.05;
and a robe of the female general Qin Liangyu (1574?–1648)
with a similar mang dragon design, from the Chongqing City
Museum, Chongqing, illustrated in Dieter Kuhn ed., Chinese
Silk, New Heaven & London, 2012, fig. 8.69, p. 422.
$ 60,000-80,000

明末 石青地金蟒紋錦

來源
耕織堂收藏

631
A BLUE SILK BROCADE IMPERIAL ‘DRAGON’ signal that the robe was to be worn by a prince since the
ROUNDEL emperor’s formal ceremonial garments feature roundels
MING DYNASTY with frontal facing dragons. A yellow-ground embroidered
roundel was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26th November
mounted on cloth-covered board 2014, lot 3413.
Height 13½ in., 34.3 cm; Length 13½ in., 34.3 cm
PROVENANCE $ 20,000-30,000
Geng Zhi Tang Collection.
明 石青地織金錦團龍紋圓補
EXHIBITED
Chang Foundation Museum, Taipei, 1999. 來源
耕織堂收藏
The five-clawed dragon was used only by close members of
the imperial family. The profile view indicates the present 展覽
roundel likely came from one of the lower front panels or 鴻禧美術館，台北，1999年
shoulder of an imperial robe. The side-facing view may also

240 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11275 AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION OF CHINESE TEXTILES 241