LATE 19TH CENTURY

Details

AN EMBROIDERED REDDISH-ORANGE SILK DAOIST PRIEST ROBE, JIANGYI
LATE 19TH CENTURY
Of rectangular form with central opening at the front, the two front panels each embroidered with a single phoenix in colored threads, the back elaborately decorated with the Daoist diagram incorporating symbols of the sun and moon (cockerel and rabbit), the constellation, and the five symbolic forms of the Five Sacred Mountains, all surrounded by cloud whorls, cranes, shou characters and other symbols of longevity, and worked into a fine fishnet pattern of metallic couched threads, all within black-ground borders incorporating dragons and phoenix at the front and sleeve openings
56 in. (142.5 cm.) long

Lot Essay

This type of Daoist robe, square in shape, with a round hole for the neck, is known as jiangyi or Robe of Descent. Compare two elaborate Daoist robes of earlier date, illustrated by S. Little and S. Eichman, Taoism and the Arts of China, Chicago, 2000, pp. 196-7, nos. 48 and 49.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

View All