Page 87 - 2019 September 9th Bonhams Important Chinese Works of Art

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A RARE EMBROIDERED SILK GAUZE FORMAL SUMMER “The formal court robe, known in Chinese as chaofu, or chaopao, is
‘DRAGON’ ROBE, CHAOFU the most important of the ceremonial costumes of the Qing court. It
19th century would have been worn only at the most important state functions,
The midnight-blue robe embroidered with fine couched gilt threads such as enthronements, Grand Audiences, Imperial weddings,
and polychrome silk floss displaying an energetic five-clawed dragon birthdays, or seasonal events such as important ritual sacrifices or
pursuing a precious pearl on the chest, back, and each shoulder New Year celebrations.
amongst ruyi-clouds, flower roundels, bat, and Daoist emblems, The construction of chaopao consists of two sections: a short side-
framed by lishui stripes with soaring mountain peaks rising from fastening jacket and a two-part pleated skirt overlapping at the sides
crashing waves churning auspicious symbols, the waist band to allow freedom of movement. The tapered sleeves and horseshoe
decorated with paired dragons on either side of the terrestrial diagram cuffs are indicative of the Manchu nomadic style. With the use of rich
amidst further auspicious clouds above waves, the similar embroidery gold-metallic threads, its splendid embroidery in a complex design,
work applied to the pleated skirt below twelve dragon roundels, the appearance of the robe would exude a powerful sense of formality,
with the thirteenth dragon roundel hidden under the flap above an tradition and grandeur, reflecting the status of the wearer and the
additional dragon dynasty which he embodied.
55in (139.7cm) long Several examples of these important robes can be found in museum
collections, including a very similar deep-blue silk gauze chaofu, dated
$25,000 - 40,000 to 1870-80, in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, number 1974.408,
and another embroidered silk chaofu in the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York, number 35.84.3, dated to the second half of the 19th
十九世紀 深藍地繡五爪金龍彩雲葛紗朝袍 century”
Provenance:
Theresa Coleman Fine Arts, 6 July 1991

來源：
Theresa Coleman Fine Arts, 1991年7月6日

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