This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/28/2023
Blue Ground Gold Couched Dragon Robe. China, late 19th c., Qing Dynasty. Approx. 140 x 21cm, 55 x 84”. Well preserved, with minor thread pulls of little consequence. Brilliantly decorated in gold thread against a blue background, with dragons, clouds, other animals surrounded by auspicious emblems. According to Linda Wrigglesworth and Gary Dickinson in Imperial Wardrobe, 10 Speed Press, officials of the fourth, fifth and sixth ranks wore dragon robes lacking the dragon on the inner flap. Robes decorated with eight dragons were also worn by mandarins in the first year after passing the imperial examinations. The gold thread was made by beating high carat gold into gold leaf and pasting it on to a paper support with lac from a lac tree. The gilt material would then be burnished and cut into fine strips before being wrapped around a silk thread core. The gold threads would then be couched down on top of the silk to form the dragons. Exceptional condition overall.