Page 203 - Bonhams Asian Art May2016 UK

496 Property from Mr. and Mrs. C. Lefebvre Collection of Chinese Robes
A HAN CHINESE WOMAN SEMIFORMAL DOMESTIC
JACKET, AO The intricate embroidery and highly auspicious symbolism suggest that
Late Qing Dynasty this robe may have been worn by the consort of a high-ranking official
The cream silk vividly embroidered with eight golden-thread, star- of Han nationality. The multitude of boys at play within the gilded ruyi-
shaped roundels enclosing boys at play, all against a ground sparsely borders underscored the wish for progeny, prosperity and happiness.
embroidered with domestic scenes, the hems with elaborate, shaped,
multiple borders. For a robe of very similar design, see J. Vorrall, Ruling from the Dragon
91.5cm (36in) long Throne, Costume of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Berkeley/Toronto,
2002, p.31, fig. 2.7. Another, with elaborate figurative roundels
£2,000 - 4,000 but on a bright blue ground, is illustrated by R.D. Jacobsen, in his
CNY18,000 - 37,000 Imperial Silks, Ch’ing Textiles in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, vol.
HK$22,000 - 44,000 I, Minneapolis, 2000, pp. 514-5, no. 215: here, the author notes that
‘unofficial robes arranged with medallion designs were considered the
most formal’. Comparable Han Chinese woman’s jackets, ao, were
offered by Christie’s New York, 19 March 2008, lots 78, 86 and 94.

ASIAN ART | 201