A rare Imperial embroidered yellow-ground 'Twelve Symbols' dragon robe, jifu

19th century

Footnotes

十九世纪 明黃緞繡五彩金龍十二章紋吉服袍

Provenance:
Christie's London, 14 May 2013, lot 93

來源：
倫敦佳士得，2013年5月14日，拍品編號93

The magnificent robe adorned with dragons and the Twelve Symbols of Imperial Authority is particularly exquisite for its intricate gold-wrapped silk thread workmanship of lattice ground and dragons, and for its meticulous embroidery.

Imperial dress in the Qing dynasty was highly proscribed and regulated according to the occasion and hierarchy of the person, in order to maintain a sense of orderliness, harmony and propriety to Court proceedings. It was in 1759 that the Imperial dress regulations were codified and divided into five categories, amongst which the jifu would have been worn on festive occasions during festivals and Imperial banquets. The vibrant colours on festive robes did not symbolise natural forces or seasonal order, but were chosen to express joy and celebration. The bright yellow, such as the present lot, however, remained the monopoly of the emperor.

Robes embroidered with the Twelve Symbols were exclusively reserved for the use of the emperor. These symbols related to the sacral role of the emperor and were divided between the upper and lower parts of the garment into a number of groups.

The first group of symbols is: 1. 日 (ri) the sun (containing a three-legged bird); 2. 月 (yue) the moon (containing a rabbit pounding the elixir); 3. 星晨 (xingchen) the constellation; and 4. 山 (shan) the mountain. Together these symbols represent the four most solemn ceremonies over which the emperor presided throughout the year, at the Altars of the Temples of Heaven, Earth, the Sun and the Moon.

The second group of symbols is: 5. 龍 (long) the dragon; and 6. 花蟲 (huachong) the flowery bird (or pheasant). These represent things on earth, and can sometimes be grouped with the mountain (no.4. above) to contrast with nos.1-3 which relate to heavenly bodies.

The third group is: 7. 黼 (fu) the axe head; 8. 黻 (fu) the confronted ji character; and 9. 宗彞 (zongyi) the sacrificial vessels. These were used for ancestral worship; the first two can also represent the emperor's ability to make decisions, including judgment and punishment, and the sacrificial vessels may represent the metal element.

The fourth group of objects is: 10. 藻 (zao) the waterweed; 11. 火 (huo) the flame; and 12. 粉米 (fenmi) the bowl of grain. These together represent three of the Five Elements. The sacrificial vessels (no.9 above) could also be included in this group.

These symbols relate to the sacred role of the emperor and can be traced back to the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 – 221 BC), with the number twelve being described by the Book of Rites, Liji as 'The number of Heaven'. The Book of History, Shujing, suggests that the Twelve Symbols may even have existed as early as the Western Zhou dynasty (1027-771 BC). However, S.Camman, in China's Dragon Robes, Chicago, 2001, p.85 states that 'we can be sure that they appeared on the Imperial sacrificial robes in the Han dynasty, and they were used by all the native Chinese dynasties thereafter'. Significantly, the ethnically distinct Manchu Qing dynasty also chose to preserve such Ming and earlier customs to reinforce a sense of continuity within the empire. The dress code was constantly being refined, and it was during the Qianlong period that the use of the Twelve Symbols was restricted to the emperor, under the Huangchao liqi tushi, 'Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial Court', introduced in 1766.

Compare two related yellow-ground Court robes with the Twelve Symbols, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by M.Wilson, ed., Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City, London, 2010, pp.18-19 and 40. Another example of a 'Twelve-Symbol' robe is illustrated by G.Dickinson and L.Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, London, 1990, pl.23.

A related Imperial yellow twelve-symbol embroidered silk gauze dragon robe, jifu, second half 19th century, was sold at Christie's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 459.

此件吉服袍以明黃色緞為地，列十二章，繡金龍九條，其中前胸、後背和兩肩正龍各一，下擺前後行龍各二，裏襟行龍一。間飾五彩雲蝠，下擺飾八寶立水，其款式為圓領右衽大襟，馬蹄袖口，窄袖加接袖，直身式長袍。所繡花紋運用多種針法，並以金線繡錦地，龍紋主體部分保存相對完好，十分華麗。

清代宮廷服飾體系龐大，規制繁浩，不同的顏色、紋飾、物料都代表身穿者不同的等級。根據《大清會典》等清代典制文獻所記載的規定可知，清代皇帝服飾可分為禮服、吉服、常服、行服、雨服、戎服和便服七大類。其中吉服是在宮廷喜慶節日、如萬壽節、千秋節、元宵節、七夕節、中秋節等場合穿用的服裝。吉服包括吉服褂和吉服袍，吉服袍即是人們常說的「龍袍」。吉服的顏色會根據時令節日的不同需要而轉變，但明黃色只限於皇帝或皇后穿著。

「十二章」是古代帝王禮服和吉服上的十二種裝飾紋樣，依次是日、月、星辰、山、龍、華蟲、黼、黻、宗彝、藻、火、粉米。根據《胡氏尚書詳解》記載舜和禹討論君臣之道時說：「予欲觀古人之象，日、月、星辰、山、龍、華蟲作會，宗彝、藻、火、粉米、黼、黻、絺繡，以五采彰施於五色作服，汝明。」，這是對十二章全面的描述，起源於東周（公元前770 – 221），以後各代沿用其制，成為帝王服飾的專用紋樣。十二章各有取義，以象徵帝王的風操品行：日、月、星辰取其照臨昭明，山取其能興雲雨，龍取其善變化，華蟲取其文章和耿介，宗彝取其威猛和忠孝，藻取其文，火取炎上，粉取潔白，米取能滋養，黼取能決斷，黻取善惡相背，更詳細討論，見S.Camman，《China's Dragon Robes》，芝加哥， 2001年，頁85。

對比北京故宮博物院藏一件明黃色緞繡彩雲金龍十二章紋吉服袍，著錄於M.Wilson，《Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City》，倫敦，2010年，頁18-19及40。另見一件明黃緞繡五彩金龍十二章吉服袍，著錄於G.Dickinson及L.Wrigglesworth，《Imperial Wardrobe》，倫敦，1990年，圖23。

紐約佳士得曾售出一件十九世紀後半葉明黃緞繡五彩金龍十二章紋吉服袍，2007年3月22日，拍品編號459。