Page 94 - Bonhams, FIne Chinese Art, Linda Wrigglesworth Collection, May 13, 2021 London

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AN EXTREMELY RARE IMPERIAL HEIR-APPARENT APRICOT-
GROUND SILK EMBROIDERED DRAGON ROBE, JIFU
Qianlong/Jiaqing
Meticulously worked on the front and back in satin stitch and couched
gold threads with nine writhing, five-clawed dragons clutching or
pursuing flaming pearls amidst dense trailing scrolls of five-coloured
clouds interspersed with bats, Shou characters and Wan symbols, all
above the terrestrial diagram and lishui stripe at the hem, picked out
in vibrant shades of blue, yellow, red, coral and green, reserved on a
deep apricot ground, the matching dark-blue-ground collar and cuffs
worked with further dragons amidst further bats, clouds and waves,
lined in blue silk.
166cm (65 3/8in) wide x 149cm (58 5/8in) long.
£60,000 - 80,000
CNY540,000 - 720,000
清乾隆/嘉慶 杏黃地繡金龍彩雲紋皇太子吉服袍

Provenance: an American private collection
Linda Wrigglesworth, London

來源：美國私人舊藏
倫敦Linda Wrigglesworth

Superbly embroidered on both the inner and outer surface with nine The impeccable tailoring and the depictions of dragons clutching,
resplendent lively five-clawed dragons riding the heavens, finely rather than chasing, flaming pearls, suggest that this robe would
worked in metallic gold threads amidst a profusion of five-coloured have been worn by a high-ranking individual. According to the
trailing clouds interspersed with a multitude of bats, the present robe is ‘Illustrated Regulations for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial
a rare and remarkable example of its type. Court’Huangchao liqi tushi 皇朝禮器圖式, edited in 1759, the apricot-
orange colour xinghuang of this magnificent robe, was one of the
The remarkable embroidery and auspicious symbolism relating to ‘Five Imperial Yellows’ that could only be worn by the Heir Apparent
the ten thousand folds of happiness is conveyed by the combination to the emperor, as well as Princes and Princesses of the First Rank
of multiple bats and wan symbols, making it very likely that the and Imperial Consorts of the Second and Third Degree; see M.Medley,
robe would have been worn by Aisin Gioro Yongyan, before he was The Illustrated Regulations for Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Ch’ing
enthroned as the Jiaqing emperor following the Qianlong emperor’s Dynasty, London, 1982, and L.Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe,
formal retirement in 1795. Berkeley, 2002, pp.14-30.

All parts are original including the apricot-orange ribbed sleeve The ‘Regulations’ confirmed the importance of a new type of robe,
extenders. the jifu or longpao, as semi-formal court wear and brought the cosmic
purpose of Imperial rule into sharp focus. The careful arrangement of
sinuous dragons writhing amid clouds and above the universal ocean
washing against the earth mountain, quickly transcended the political
and ethnic priorities of Imperial government to become universal
symbols of the empire.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
90 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.