IMPERIAL YELLOW BROCADE CHAO FU YARDAGE

QIANLONG

Details

IMPERIAL YELLOW BROCADE CHAO FU YARDAGE
Qianlong
The square panel of uncut yardage with brocade decoration of quatrefoil outline forming the yoke of the garment, woven in gold and shades of blue, green, coral and ochre with four five-clawed dragons hovering above clusters of rocks issuing from spume-flecked waves, the outlines defined in gold threads
54 x 53in. (137.2 x 135.3cm.), framed

Lot Essay

Compare the chao fu of very similar design worn by the Qianlong Emperor in the commemorative portrait by Castiglione in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Gary Dickinson and Linda Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, London, 1990, p. 47, pl. 36 and cover. A slightly earlier version of this garment yoke in dark blue or black brocaded silk, is illustrated by John E. Vollmer in the Catalogue for the exhibition, Five Colors of the Universe, Symbolism in clothes and fabrics of the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1911), Edmonton Art Gallery, 7 November 1980 - 11 January 1981, p. 24.