Lot Essay
The apricot colour, xinghuang, of this magnificent robe was restricted for use by the heir apparent and his consort. Apricot-coloured price’s robes are very rare and few existent examples exist. An example of another 19th century kesi orange-ground dragon robe is in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and is illustrated by R. Jacobsen, Imperial Silks: Ch’ing Dynasty Textiles in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, vol. 1, 2000, pp. 154055, no. 48. See a very close apricot dress sold in Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2020, lot 3090.