MING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURY

Details

AN EXCEPTIONAL MING KESI IMPERIAL DRAGON ROUNDEL, BUZI
MING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURY
The circular badge is finely woven to depict a front facing dragon, with its front legs raised and claws clutching a 'flaming pearl' centred between its horns, the hind legs each grasping trident mountains emerging from cresting waves. Each cloud, mountain and band of radiance is marked with the characters Wan and Shou. The roundel is worked in threads of tones of red, blue, green, yellow, beige, white and gold.
15 3/8 in. (39 cm.) diam., mounted

Provenance

Myrna Myers, Paris

Literature

John Vollmer, Silks for Thrones and Altars, Paris, 2003, p. 38, no. 13

Brought to you by

Angela Kung

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Lot Essay

It is highly probable that the badge was made to commemorate the emperor's birthday with its references to longevity.

This badge may have been worn by the Emperor Zhengde (r. 1506-1521), the Emperor Jiajing (r. 1522-1566) or the Emperor Wanli (r. 1573-1619). The colours of the dyes in this badge reflect a 16th century date of manufacture. John Vollmer, op. cit., p. 38, notes that the unusual design, and the superb quality of this piece, suggests that this badge was woven at the Imperial workshops during the reign of Wanli Emperor.

Being a front facing dragon, this roundel was worn either at the Emperors Chest, at the heart, or at the back of his robe.

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