RARE DAOIST DIGNITARY JIANGYI ROBE (BACK). SILK.
China. 18th/19th c.

Silk satin; embroidered with gold and dyed silk threads. Backed with blue silk. This back part of a Daoist dignitary robe consists of once yellow silk and is embroidered with big dragons; dragon medallions and a pagoda in the centre; flanked by two more dragons and a star constellation.

The fragment still keeps the shape of the robe with a rounded bottom seam. Such huge robes were used by Daoist dignitaries when conducting rituals; which were also held at the imperial court of Qing. About 130 x 173cm. Condition B.

Provenance:
-Coll. of Erich Boltze and Ruth Baroness von Gersdorff. Acquired locally before 1948.

Compare:
-The Art Institute of Chicago: Clothed to Rule the Universe; Ming and Qing Dynasty Textiles; 2000. Compare type p. 43; p. 67.
Art trade; Van Ham.