A VERY RARE AND IMPORTANT CIVIL OFFICIAL'S RANK BADGE OF A CIRCULAR CRANE, BUZI KangxiA VERY RARE AND IMPORTANT CIVIL OFFICIAL'S RANK BADGE OF A CIRCULAR CRANE, BUZIKangxiMade for a First Rank civil official, the crane finely worked in white satin stitch alighting on a rock emerging from rolling waves interspersed with jewels, surrounded by ruyi clouds and the sun finely worked in satin stitch in shades of blue, green and coral raised silk threads, geometric patterns of couched gold thread, including the pitted rock and the border, all reserved on a dense ground of couched gold threads within a scroll border, mounted. 36cm (14 1/8in) high x 35cm (13 3/8in) wide.清康熙 金地彩繡一品文官仙鶴紋補子Provenance: Konantz-Benton-Minnich Collection, Minneapolis, MNMinnesota Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MNLinda Wrigglesworth, London, acquired in 1995Published and Illustrated: L.Wrigglwsworth, Making the Grade, London, 1946, p.42.來源：美國明尼蘇達州，Konantz-Benton-Minnich舊藏美國明尼蘇達州明尼阿波利斯，明尼蘇達藝術博物館舊藏倫敦Linda Wrigglesworth收藏，於1995年入藏出版著錄：L.Wrigglwsworth，《Making the Grade》，倫敦，1946年，頁42Boldly designed in brilliant colourful silk, making lavish use of couched-gold thread worked in a geometric pattern, the present badge is a rare example probably dating to the early to middle phase of the Kangxi reign and would have been made for a civil official of the first rank. The tendency of using circles for bird designs, as well as the lavish use of the gold with the gold outline around the major elements and the symmetrical positioning of the precious objects amidst the rolling waves appear to be features more typical of the early Kangxi period; see B.Jackson and D.Hugus, Ladder to the Clouds: Intrigue and Tradition in Chinese Rank, Berkeley CA, 1999, pp.224-226.The Manchurian crane was thought to live for over 200 years and stored its accumulated wisdom in its red 'cap'. This is probably why the emblem of this bird was used for the emperor's closest advisors. Badges decorated with different types of birds were reserved for use by the civil officials. The birds used as a rank insignia were based on real, rather than imaginary species. These creatures generally symbolised literary elegance and were thus a suitable creature to designate civil officials who had gained their position through examinations based on the classics of the Confucian canon; see L.Wrigglesworth and G.Dickinson, The Imperial Wardrobe, London, 1990, pp.121-122.Compare with a similar embroidered silk badge of a circular crane, early Qing dynasty, illustrated by L.Wrigglesworth, The Imperial Wardrobe, Berkeley, 200, p.121, pl.101. A nearly identical silk badge of a circular crane, Kangxi, illustrated by B.Jackson and D.Hugus, Ladder to the Clouds. Intrigue and Tradition in Chinese Rank, Berkeley, 1999, pp.224, was sold at Christie's New York, 25 March 2022, lot 1156.