A RARE IMPERIAL EMBROIDERED YELLOW SILK TWELVE SYMBOL DRAGON ROBE, JI FU

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A RARE IMPERIAL EMBROIDERED YELLOW SILK TWELVE SYMBOL DRAGON ROBE, JI FU
QIANLONG

The bright yellow ground worked in couched threads with nine metallic gold dragons, five in profile clutching flaming pearls amidst multi-colored clouds in primary and pastel shades and pairs of pink, red, and blue shou characters in three different scripts, finely shaded pink and red bats grouped in clusters of five at the shoulder and above the foam-crested terrestrial diagram and lishui stripe at the hem embroidered in finely shaded tones of red, green, blue, mauve and brown, the twelve symbols arranged in three groups of four beginning with the sun, moon, constellation and mountains around the neck; the axe head, fu symbol, pair of dragons and pheasant around the upper body of the robe; and the water weed, pair of sacrificial vessels (see detail), fire and grain above the turbulent rolling waves, the details of the crests and some of the symbols finely outlined in black threads
56in. (142.cm.) long

Lot Essay

Eighteenth century twelve-symbol robes are extremely rare. A nearly identical robe, but with prescribed collar and cuffs, is illustrated in by Wan Yi et al., Daily Life in the Forbidden City, New York, 1988, p. 178, no. 239. Although the present lot has had its collar and cuffs removed, the condition of this robe is exceptional for its age and retains its original, brilliant colors

Other comparable examples are in the Shenyang Palace Museum, Liaoning province, included in the exhibition, Imperial Life in the Qing Dynasty, The Empress Place Museum, Singapore, Catalogue, pp. 52 and 53; and another with very similar placement of symbols and motifs, but with blue or black sleeve extensions, is illustrated by John E. Vollmer, In the Presence of the Dragon Throne, Royal Ontario Museum, 1977, pp. 58 and 59, where the author states that, "When Imperial Edict codified Ch'ing court costume in 1759, the emperor's own formal and semi-formal coats were exalted above all others with the addition of the twelve ancient symbols of imperial authority to the basic decorative schema. Following Han Dynasty precedent, this distinction was reserved for the emperor alone"