AN EMBROIDERED BROWN-GROUND SILK DRAGON ROBE, JI FU

LATE 19TH CENTURY

Details
AN EMBROIDERED BROWN-GROUND SILK DRAGON ROBE, JI FU
Late 19th Century
Worked entirely in finely couched gold threads with nine contorted five-clawed dragons confronting flaming pearls amidst ruyi-form clouds interspersed with bats and various Buddhist emblems, above the terrestrial diagram with peach branches issuing from turbulent waves above lishui stripe at the hem, all against a rich, golden-brown ground, with dragon borders at the collar and cuffs
54in. (139cm.) long

Lot Essay

The golden brown color of this robe is probably the "tawny yellow" color which was appropriate for members of the imperial clan other than the emperor and his immediate family. See Gary Dickinson and Linda Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, London, 1990, p. 161, where the authors illustrate a brown-ground dragon robe and note that, "The manuscript based on the Huangchao liqi tushi appears to have given members of the imperial family the choice of either blue or brown court robes. Brown was considered to be an off-shade of yellow".