Page 233 - Bonham's Asian Art London November 12, 2015

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 士紳藏品 244
245
244
AN EMBROIDERED BROWN-GROUND FINE CHINESE ART | 231
‘DRAGON’ ROBE
19th century
The robe of brown silk finely worked in couched
gold threads with nine five-clawed dragons on the
front and back panels, one on the underflap, the
dragons chasing flaming pearls amidst a ground of
multi-coloured clouds interspersed with bats and
shou characters, above a hem of cresting waves
tossed with the Eight Buddhist Emblems, and the
lishui stripe, the collar and cuffs of black silk further
embellished with further dragons, clouds and
auspicious symbols, the lower sleeves gilt striped.
133cm (52 3/8in) long

£5,000 - 7,000
HK$59,000 - 82,000
CNY48,000 - 68,000

十九世紀 醬色地緞繡九龍八吉祥紋袍服

Provenance: a British private collection

來源： 英國私人收藏

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 士紳藏品

245
A LADY’S INFORMAL KESI RED-GROUND
ROBE, CHANGFU
19th century
The coral-red robe woven with three roundels on
the front, three on the back and one on each sleeve,
each roundel formed of and painted with twisting
leafy vines issuing blossoming flowers, double
gourds, bats and the Eight Auspicious Emblems
surrounding a central flower vase, the collar and
wide cuffs similarly decorated and formed of kesi
black silk, the hem with stylised mountains and
rolling waves issuing further auspicious symbols.
140cm (55 1/8in) long

£3,000 - 5,000
HK$35,000 - 59,000
CNY29,000 - 48,000

清末 紅地緙絲瓜瓞團紋常服

Provenance: a European private collection

來源： 歐洲私人收藏

The robe may have been intended to be worn
worn during a festive occasion, such as a wedding
banquet. Butterflies are symbolic of marital union,
and vines and gourds underscore auspicious
symbolism relating to health and fertility.

Compare the two red-ground robes illustrated
in R.D.Jacobsen, Imperial Silks: Ch’ing Dynasty
Textiles in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts,
Minneapolis, 2000, vol. 1, pp. 256-6 and 264-
5. A related robe, is included in the collection
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
no.1978.159.