Page 166 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art London Nov. 2019

126
The Property of a Gentleman 紳士藏品
Lots 126 - 127

126
A RARE SILK COURT ‘SILVER PHEASANTS’ During the 17th century, under pressure from the Manchu to institute
RANK BADGE, BUZI their own style of court attire, the shape of the buzi or insignia badges,
17th century became more exactingly square. The nine-grade system which
The badge finely embroidered with a pair of silver pheasants, each assigned pictorial badges to all in attendance at the at the imperial
bird rendered with outstretched wings soaring amidst large clusters court was codified in 1391. Under the Ming and Qing dynasties,
of lozenge-shaped clouds, above rolling waves and prism-like rocks, badges with different categories of beasts were assigned to distinguish
all worked in vibrant shades of green, orange, blue, yellow and white the aristocracy from the gentry and differenciate status within the
couched silk floss and couched gold threads on a twisted blue silk elaborate military and civil bureaucracies.
thread ground.
37.3cm (14 1/2in) long x 36.3cm (14 2/8in) wide. The present badge was part of a large group comprising over thirty
similar silk badges, mainly representing lions and silver pheasants,
£5,000 - 7,000 once sewn into a large curtain or canopy from the collection of the
CNY44,000 - 62,000 Palazzo Corsini, Florence. It has been suggested that these badges
were likely assembled in Tibet to form a large hanging or a canopy.
For published examples of similar Ming badges from the Corsini
十七世紀 白鷴紋刺繡補子 group see C.Hall, et al., One Thousand Years of Chinese Textiles,
Hong Kong, 1995, pp.66-68; see also J.Vollmer, Silks For Thrones
Provenance: Palazzo Corsini, Florence and Altars: Chinese Costumes and Textiles from the Liao Through
The Plum Blossom Gallery, Hong Kong, November 1994 the Qing Dynasty, Paris, 2003, no.12, pp.36-37; see C.Hall, Power
A European private collection Dressing: Textiles for Rulers and Priests from the Chris Hall Collection,
Singapore, 2006, p.240, no.69.
來源：意大利佛羅倫薩，Palazzo Corsini
香港古董商，萬玉堂，1994年11月 A related silk ‘lion’ badge, Ming dynasty, from the Corsini collection,
歐洲私人收藏 was sold at Christie’s New York, 19 March 2008, lot 19.

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