Page 84 - Bonhams Chinese Paintings and Works of Art Sept 15, 2015

RITUAL AND CELEBRATION:
SYMBOLISM IN SILK
Silk is made from the filament of the cocoons of the Bombyx mori moth,
which had been domesticated by Neolithic farmers living along the
Yellow River roughly five thousand years ago. Quite probably the insect
was domesticated initially for its protein-rich pupae; but in time Chinese mother) of the empire, and given the resources, a wealthy individual,
farmers learned to unwind the hard, durable cocoon filaments to make
threads, thus discovering a source of textile fiber unlike any other.
Sericulture—the rearing of domesticated moths, which could no longer
survive in nature without the intervention of people—provided a resource
of singular importance to the development of Chinese civilization. Its
discovery was of such significance that its origin was attributed to the
intervention of the divine wife of the legendary Yellow Emperor.
In China, silk textiles were esteemed for their very existence and the
aura of extravagance they conveyed. They came to embody the
cultural values of the highest strata of society: hierarchy, precedent
and wealth, but particularly the cosmic intent of imperial rule.
The eleventh century BCE, Zhou dynasty kings legitimized their
overthrow of the Shang kingdom by claiming the moral obligation
of the tianming, or the Mandate of Heaven, a theory that a ruler’s
performance on behalf of the ruled, rather than his bloodline or political of the Chinese language and the manner in which it written. Since
power, determined his fitness to rule. At its core was the idea that the
ruler was empowered to mediate between Heaven and man for the
benefit of the state, which led to the sovereign being called tianzi, or
Son of Heaven. Moral authority found expression through ritual, which
was viewed as essential for maintaining social order and harmony
with Heaven. Accordingly, ritual clothing together with a rich variety of
accessories and furnishings, were agents for expressing this authority.
The longpao, or dragon robes, in this sale demonstrate the
continuation of that practice nearly 3000 years after the Zhou kings
established their mandate. Decorated with the “five colors” and
elements of the visible universe including dragons—emblems of
imperial authority—these robes relate to astronomy, the recording of
equinoxes and solstices, as well as the harmonious balance of natural
phenomena, literally making their wearers participants in imperial
enterprise of mediating between Heaven and society. Like all of the
imperial dynasties before them, the Qing (1644-1910) created an
elaborate court wardrobe that reflected rank and status, as well as
the significance of each type of official event. (Lots 8091-8099). One
of the unique developments of this dynasty was the introduction of
dark colored surcoats, which obscured most of the decoration on the
garment beneath and which display insignia that precisely identified
the status and position of its wearer. Only the emperor himself could
wear a surcoat decorated with four roundels, each with a front-facing
long dragon and an imperial emblem (sun, moon, mountain and
constellation) above its head (Lot 8099).
Not only were the participants of court and domestic events required
to dress appropriately, the spaces, in which those events took place,
were also dressed with silks. A panel in this sale is composed of
three sets of strips that would have been draped over chairs in a
reception room (Lot 8100). Pairs of draped chairs flanking a table,
with a matching frontal, would have been arranged along the sides
and back wall of a room creating the stage for events ranging from
honoring parents and ancestors to receiving brides into the household
or the veneration of elderly members for birthdays, the New Year and
other festive occasions. Like the dragon-pattern garments worn at
court, dragon-patterned covers would have marked those occasions,
in which actions of the family mirrored those of the court. Rank and
entitlement often determined these decorations. Four-toed mang
dragons as official imperial emblems would have been reserved for
imperial princes of the third to the eight ranks. The pair embroidered
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on red silk satin may have been made for a wedding. But it should
be noted that within a Confucian cultural context any wedding paid
homage to the emperor and empress as the first couple (father and
regardless of rank, might also have acquired such furnishings.
The monumental embroidered hanging with its lengthy inscription
and elaborate borders was also intended to dress an interior.
Commissioned by a family or group of supporters, such displays
honored an individual for a special occasion. Such pieces not only
acknowledged the worthiness of an individual, but the public display
of such huge quantities of silk cloth and elaborate professional
embroidery reflected well on those who could afford to commission
such a lavish piece (Lot 8102).
While the inscribed hanging clearly demonstrates the importance of
literacy within Chinese elite culture, the pair of strips embroidered with
cranes and deer on navy blue satin offers an even more pervasive view of
literacy in Qing dynasty culture. By the tenth century motifs, functioning
as rebuses, could themselves be read as sentences to express wishes
for happiness, long life and social achievement. In part, this was a result
Chinese words have a single syllable, many words are homophones,
sharing the same, or similar, pronunciations. Orally, meanings rely on
context, intonation and placement within a phrase. Despite this, a certain
ambiguity exists and verbal puns are a common feature of the spoken
language. Written language, on the other hand, is extremely precise, with
different characters representing each word. The meanings of decorative
motifs are equally precise, yet when used in rebuses or word puzzles,
they can be used to express completely different messages. For example,
crane (he 鹤) and deer (lu 鹿), could be used to express the sentiment
“the universe is enjoying springtime (longevity)” (liuhe tongchun 六合同
春). The words for “deer” (lu 鹿) sounds almost like “six” (liu 六). The crane
(he 鹤) is a pun for “together” (he 合). Collectively they form a rebus for
liuhe (六合) or “the six points of the universe,” meaning the four directions,
zenith and nadir. The satin stitch embroidered pair of fans exhibit a theme
known as (bainiao chaohuang百鸟朝凰) or “100 birds paying homage to
the phoenix.” They may have been intended as a wedding gift, for a bride
was often called “empress for the day;” the emblem of the empress was
a phoenix (Lots 8100 and 8103).
Silk also smoothed the diplomacy of the Chinese state when it dealt
with foreigners along its borders and further afield. Traditionally
diplomacy was framed around the self-sufficiency of the Chinese state
and the largess of the emperor, who bestowed titles and honors on
those willing to submit to the authority of the Dragon Throne. The
grants entitled the recipient to robes and trappings appropriate to
the rank of the title, including court robes and textiles. As a result,
the court ordered vast quantities of silks to be given away, or sent to
foreign leaders, such as the bolt of brocaded voided velvet. While with
pattern of exotic foliage evoking patterns made popular during the
18th century reign of the Qianlong emperor, this example dates from
around 1900 (Lot 8098).
While exquisite silk textiles distinguished the material life and
appearance of the highest levels of society, the production of
commodities, such as thread and finished cloth, played a major role
in the prosperity of state. The four classes of traditional Chinese
Confucian society: farmers, artisans, merchants and scholar-officials—
were all engaged with silk’s economic impact—its fundamental
importance summed up in the old adage nangeng nuzhi (男耕女织) or
“men plough; women weave.”
John E. Vollmer, New York, 2015