Lot 202

In excellent condition, the yellow of the body with slight fading in contrast to inner panel, but the silk strong and stable, slight wear to cuffs and collar, the embroidery in excellent condition


The opinions expressed in the condition reports are a guide only and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Prospective buyers are encouraged to inspect articles for sale at our pre-sale viewing where Leonard Joel staff are available for advice.
Leonard Joel makes no guarantee of the originality of mechanical or applied components. Absence of reference to such modifications does not imply that a lot is free from modifications.

Ex Private Collector, Taiwan, whose family had descended from the Manchu's; illustrated in Sotheby's, New York, May 1981, Lot 174; Purchased: Linda Wrigglesworth, London, Irving Galleries, 1991, 4005/2699 Catalogue no. 136

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Celestial Silks, Chinese Religious Court Textiles, 31 August - 24
October, 2004, illus. catalogue no. 28.

This robe has appeared in several journal articles.

This imperial yellow jifu would have been worn by the Empress for official duties, important sacred ceremonies, or when giving an audience in her chambers. This style of dress, was depicted in the 1759 Court regulations revised by the Emperor Qianlong.
For women, dragon robes in yellow were reserved exclusively for the empress dowager, the empress and the emperor's first ranking consort, and was considered the most auspicious colour.
Literature: G. Dickinson and L. Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, Berkeley, rev. ed., 2000; Rutherford, J., and Menzies, J., Celestial Silks: Chinese Religious and Court Textiles, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 31 July - 24 October, 2004; Steele, V. and Major, J.S., China Chic - East Meets West, Yale University Press, London, 1999; Vollmer, J. E., Ruling from the Dragon Throne: Costume of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, 2002; Cammann, S., China's Dragon Robes, The Ronald Press Company, New York, 1952