Page 220 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF AN AMERICAN GENTLEMAN
930
A RARE MIDNIGHT-BLUE GAUZE SURCOAT WITH
CRANE ROUNDELS, BUFU
GUANGXU PERIOD (1875-1908)
Made for a frst rank civil oficial, the elegant, deep midnight-blue
silk gauze is worked in counted stitch with roundels enclosing lotus
emerging from water. The front and back of the robe are set with
integral crane roundels outlined in gold and silver threads.
42 º in. (107.3 cm.) long x 66 º in. (168.2 cm.) wide
$20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE
Jon Eric Riis, Atlanta, 2006.
Qing court attire was divided into summer and winter clothing.
The date for the seasonal change of dress was decided by the
Board of Rites and was issued as an imperial edict. The change
into summer clothing was in the third lunar month, and change
into winter clothing in the ninth lunar month. Regardless of the
actual temperature at the time, once the edict had been issued,
everyone was required to change into the appropriate seasonal
clothing promulgated by the court.
This extremely rare robe with its fne gauze material was made
for summer. It has an integral crane roundel on both the front
and back, indicating that it was made for a frst-rank civil oficial.
A black gauze robe worked with shou character roundels and
set with an egret badge (for a sixth-rank civil oficial) is in The
Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 51 -
Costumes and Accessories of the Qing Court, Hong Kong, 2005,
p. 224, no. 143. An array of both formal and informal gauze
robes from the Charlotte Hill Grant collection were included in
an exhibition at the Denver Art Museum, Lighter than Air: Gauze
Robes from China, 17 May 2003-30 November 2003.
清光緒 石青紗一品仙鶴補服

216