18TH CENTURY

This dragon panel would likely have been part of an imperial hanging to be used during festive occasions. A pair of 18^th century red-ground kesi curtain hangings with similar decoration of dragons chasing flaming pearls are illustrated by R. D. Jacobsen, Imperial Silks, Ch'ing Dynasty Textiles in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, vol. II, Minneapolis, 2000, pp. 958-59, no. 475.