Page 98 - Bonhams Chinese Paintings and Works of Art Sept 15, 2015
P. 98
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PROPERTY FROM ANOTHER OWNER PROPERTY OF A NEW YORK GENTLEMAN
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A LARGE SILK HANGING AN UNCUT SILK BLUE-GROUND SEMI-FORMAL ‘DRAGON’
18th/19th century ROBE, CHIFU
Comprised of three separate panels, one of olive-green silk couched Late Qing dynasty
in gold thread with two front-facing four-clawed dragons, two lotus The uncut silk of bright blue and couched with brilliant gold-wrapped
medallions, two scenes of phoenix and qilin and two kang characters; thread with nine five-clawed front-facing dragons including on the
one of red silk decorated with two gold and two blue front-facing inner flap, each pursuing a flaming pearl of wisdom, all among
four-clawed dragons and two medallions of gold chilong cornered by gold cloud scrolls and above a luxuriant hem of solid gold thread
square-scroll chilong; the third panel of dark blue silk with two scenes alternating yellow, white and reddish tones to form rows of waves
of deer and two medallions with cranes, and other cartouches of bats with Buddhist symbols and stylized peaks rising from the foam.
with fish and floral scrolls; red lining. 115 x 60in (292 x 152.4cm) overall
121 1/4 x 57 1/2in (308 x 146cm) $6,000 - 9,000
$2,000 - 3,000
晚清 藍緞繡金龍吉服匹料
十八或十九世紀 三色絲緞掛軸
Provenance
This unusual banner is composed of three exquisitely embroidered Purchased by Liza Minelli in London, July 1976, thereafter gifted to
chair covers, each originally designed with four registers to cover the Martha Graham during her series of performances in Covent Garden
chair back, front, seat and front overhang in a single elegant piece.
Such covers would have been used to celebrate special occasions, The gorgeous effect of the gold-wrapped thread on the present lot
as indicated by such subject matter as cranes for longevity, deer for illustrates the status of the intended wearer and the importance of
wealth and status, and dragons for power and grandeur. spectacle in the later Qing period. The reddish tones of the gold-wrapped
thread were produced by using red silk thread at the core and for the
Compare other examples of chair covers illustrated by R. D. Jacobsen, couching, and correspondingly yellow and white thread for the yellowish
Imperial Silks: Ch’ing Dynasty Textiles in The Minneapolis Institute of and paler tones, creating a clever contrast within the glittering display.
Arts, Vol. II, Minneapolis, 2000, pp. 894-911, nos. 440-451.
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