Page 169 - Christies IMportant Chinese Art Sept 26 2020 NYC

ANOTHER PROPERTY
1619
A YELLOW-GROUND KESI INFORMAL ROBE
The classical tailoring of the current robe with its narrow and layered
GUANGXU PERIOD (1875-1908)
sleeves and wide borders, as well as the decoration, are typical of the
The yellow silk robe is finely worked with gold shou characters and fashions worn by Manchu noblewomen associated with the court
clusters of bamboo in shades of blue, all within black borders similarly of the Dowager Empress Cixi. Robes associated with the Dowager
decorated, and with black satin trimmings. The blue silk lining is Empress are often decorated with auspicious symbols such as the
decorated with bats, peonies, and double-peaches. shou characters seen on the present robe. The present robe has
47 in. (119.3 cm.) long x 57º (145.6 cm.) wide the additional decoration of bamboo, zhu, which is also associated
with longevity because of its durability; it is also a homophone for
$18,000-25,000 'congratulate'.
清光緒 黃地緙絲團壽竹紋氅衣 A yellow-ground robe similarly decorated with gold shou characters,
but with the addition of peonies, that once belonged to Dowager
Empress Cixi, is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing,
and is illustred in Yan Yong and Fang Hongjun, ed., The Splendors of
Imperial Costume: Qing Court Attire from the Beijing Palace Museum,
Beijing, pp. 118-19, no. 81.