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Lot Essay
So-called 'seed' gauze, with its distinctive small geometric pattern was very highly prized. The robe's elegant tailoring, narrow sleeves and tightly fitting cuffs, as well as the small gilt filigree buttons support an 18th century date. The deep burgundy color is also known to have been fashionable among gentlemen of the court during the 1780s. The color was named after General Fu Kang An (d. 1796) who started the trend. The cuffs are lined in blue gauze silk, part of the very traditional pattern.
Compare a satin robe of the same color, but woven with dragon roundels, illustrated by M. Wilson (ed.) in Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City, Victoria and Albert Museum p. 52, no. 32 where it is described as an Emperor's Regular Robe, worn on sombre occasions such as the anniversaries of the deaths of past emperors.
Compare a satin robe of the same color, but woven with dragon roundels, illustrated by M. Wilson (ed.) in Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City, Victoria and Albert Museum p. 52, no. 32 where it is described as an Emperor's Regular Robe, worn on sombre occasions such as the anniversaries of the deaths of past emperors.