
Bruce Maclaren
Global Head, Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy
Sold for US$12,575 inc. premium
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Senior Vice President, US Head, Asian Art Group
清咸豐/同治 御製石青緞繡龍紋襯灰鼠皮袞服
Provenance
Legend gallery, 25 March 2017, lot 191
Bonham's San Francisco, 17 December 2013, lot 8253
來源
Legend藝廊, 2017年3月25日,拍品編號191
舊金山邦瀚斯,2013年12月17日,拍品編號8253
An emperor's surcoat was called a gunfu (lit. 'royal garment'), and is distinguished from a bufu (lit. 'a garment with a badge') which would have been worn by imperial princes and high ranking officials. An emperor's surcoat was embroidered with four front-facing five-clawed dragons set within medallions with symbols of the sun and the moon on the shoulders, and shou characters, or the constellation and the mountain after the second half of the nineteenth century on the chest and back. The lining of this jacket is squirrel fur, huishu, (灰鼠) which was utilized even for the Imperial wardrobe after 1820 when sable and other pelts became scarce.
For illustrations and further discussion regarding gunfu and bufu, refer to John E. Vollmer, Ruling from the Dragon Throne, Ten Speed Press, 2002, pp. 113-116. See also Christie's, New York, sale 2108: The Imperial Wardrobe, Fine Chinese Costume and Textiles from the Linda Wrigglesworth Collection, 19 March 2008, lot 113. An emperor's winter surcoat with a similarly embroidered front dragon roundel, also ornamented with the constellation symbol, is illustrated and discussed in Robert L. Thorp, Son of Heaven, Imperial Arts of China, Son of Heaven Press, Seattle, 1988, p. 74.