Page 93 - Bonhams FINE CHINESE ART London November 2 2021

the styles of a long garment and a sleeveless coat, as the present large quantities of Imperial ‘dragon’ robes that became the customary
example, from the ‘Regulations of Imperial Paraphernalia of the formal dress for aristocratic Tibetans. The Tibetans traditionally wore
Qing Dynasty’ Huangchao Liqi Tushi, edited in 1759, is illustrated by robes featuring very long sleeves characterised by wider cuts and
J.Vollmer and J.Simcox, Emblems of the Empire. selections from the a simpler style of front overlap and fastening. The front part of the
Mactaggart Art Collection, Edmonton, CA, 2009, p.13. garment slanted from the neck to a fastening under the right arm.

According to the ‘Illustrated Regulations for the Ritual Paraphernalia The Tibetans created the chubha style robe by substituting the front
of the Imperial Court’ Huangchao Liqi Tushi 皇朝禮器圖式, edited underlap of the garment with another material, or by cutting off some
in 1759, brown jinhuang, was considered one of the five shades of of the deep wave border to extend the arms or widen the sleeves.
yellow that could only be worn by the closest family members to the The overall result conveyed a rather harmonious and eccentric effect
Emperor, and Third and Fourth Degree Princes and their wives could obtained by combining different materials; see J.Simcox and J.Vollmer,
wear brown robes decorated with four-clawed dragons, mang; see Emblems of Empire: Selection from the Mactaggart Art Collection,
L.Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, London, 1990, p.174. Edmonton CA, 2009, pp.200-217.

During the Qing dynasty, it became an established practice for the Compare with a related ‘dragon’ robe, Kangxi, which was sold at
Court to send gifts of silks and garments to Tibet because of the Christie’s London, 9 November 2010, lot 276.
strong attachment of the Manchu rulers to Tibetan Buddhism and the
political relations. At this time, the Court produced richly-decorated
silk costumes specifically for use in Buddhist rituals and bestowed