Page 134 - Bonhams Asian Art London November 5, 2020

Anne Moen Bullitt was an American socialite, philanthropist, and
horsebreeder. Her father, William Christian Bullitt, was the first
American ambassador to the Soviet Union and later became
his country’s ambassador to France under President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. In her youth she was regarded as a great beauty, and was
known for assembling a wardrobe of rare and valuable classic haute
couture items. She bought a 700-acre estate in County Kildare, where
she enjoyed much success and fame in Ireland as a horse owner,
breeder and trainer, and became the first woman in Ireland to be
granted a racehorse trainer’s licence.

Anne Moen Bullitt，美國名媛、慈善家及賽馬培育者。其父William
Christian Bullitt曾任首位美國駐蘇聯大使，後在美國總統羅斯福任內任
美國駐法大使。 Bullitt女士天生麗質，並以其品味獨到的經典高級女
裝收藏而聞名。她在愛爾蘭基爾代爾郡購置了佔地700英畝的莊園，
進行賽馬的培育和訓練，並成為了愛爾蘭首位獲得賽馬訓練師執照的
女性，在育馬界獲得了巨大成功和聲望。
Mrs Anne Moen Bullitt

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 紳士藏品

115 *
A RARE IMPERIAL EMBROIDERED YELLOW-GROUND power, five-clawed dragons embodied royalty and dominion and
TWELVE-SYMBOL DRAGON ROBE, JIFU expressed the visual metaphor of the good ruler who behaved wisely
19th century for the well being of his subjects. The Twelve Symbols of Imperial
The robe worked in satin stitch in shades of blue, green, red and pale Authority further reinforce the emperor’s essence over eloquence,
violet and couched gold threads on the front and back panels, with articulation, forcefulness and vigour. According to the ‘Book of History’
nine five-clawed dragons pursuing ‘flaming pearls’ amidst clusters (Shujing 書經), the legendary Emperor Shun, believed to have ruled
of clouds interspersed with bats, auspicious motifs and the Twelve during the third millennium BC, referred to these symbols as suitable
Symbols of Imperial authority, all reserved on a rich Imperial yellow decoration for Imperial formal attire and in 1766, the Qianlong emperor
ground above the terrestrial diagram with lishui stripe at the hem, with restricted the use of these motifs to imperial robes. See G.Dickinson
dark blue-ground cuffs, collar and sleeve bands decorated with further and L.Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, Berkeley, 2002, pp.14-30.
dragons and clouds.
149cm (58 5/8in) long. A rigid scheme defined the position of the Twelve Symbols on the
robes. The sun, moon, stars, and mountain, symbolised the four
£40,000 - 60,000 main ceremonies at which the emperor presided throughout the year
CNY350,000 - 530,000 at the Altars of Heaven, Earth, Sun and Moon. They were placed in
pairs at the shoulders, chest and mid-back area. The paired dragons,
the golden pheasant, the confronted ji character and the hatchet,
十九世紀 明黃緞繡五彩金龍十二章紋吉服袍 represented all things on earth and the ruler’s ability to make decisions.
They decorated the chest area, while the sacrificial vessels, the aquatic
Provenance: Anne Moen Bullitt (1924-2007) grass, the grains of millet and the flames, representing ancestor
Christie’s London, 15 May 2009, lot 317 worship and four of the Five Elements, were placed at the mid-calf
level of the coat.
來源：Anne Moen Bullitt（1924-2007）舊藏
倫敦佳士得，2009年5月15日，拍品編號317 The seven-shaded lishui bands are flawlessly woven and include the
aniline purple tone, which was imported into China from Europe circa
Delicately embroidered with nine five-clawed dragons riding the 1863 and was highly favoured by the Dowager empress Cixi. See R.
heavens and worked in metallic gold and silver threads amidst a Silberstein, Vicious Purple or a “First Class Dye”?: Finding a Place for the
profusion of trailing clouds interspersed with the Twelve Symbols of Foreign in Nineteenth-Century Chinese Dress Culture, Paper presented
Imperial Sovereignty, the present robe is a rare example of festive at College Art Association Annual Conference, New York, 2013.
garments worn by the highest-ranking female members of the Qing
society. Unlike robes worn by men, female garments lacked the two Compare with a similar yellow-ground Twelve-Symbol robe, 19th
vents at the front and back. century, a slightly later example, also a woman’s robe, illustrated in
Secret Splendors of the Chinese Court: Qing Dynasty Costume from
Robes decorated with designs drawn from the repertoire of court the Charlotte Hill Grant Collection, Denver 1982, pp.60-61.
symbols, such as the dragons, reinforced the privilege of an educated
and sophisticated elite focused on the power of textiles to convey A similar yellow-ground robe embroidered with the Twelve Symbols, 19th
social status to the viewers. The quintessential symbol of Imperial century, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2011, lot 3143.

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