An uncut fragment of a midnight-blue brocade formal court robe, Chaofu


18th centuryThe square formed by joining three pieces from the upper section of a chaofu woven with a pattern of alternating clouds and dragon roundels that surround a quadrilobed panel in polychrome silk and gilt-wrapped threads of four front-facing five-clawed dragons amid auspicious clouds enclosed within a lishui border along the base of each lobe; the dark blue ground bordered with pieced strips of faded red brocade woven with clouds, bats, stylized scrolls and vases; framed and glazed.58 1/2 x 58 1/2in (148.6 x 148.6cm) dimensions of the fragment71 3/4 x 72 3/4in (182.2 x 184.8cm) the frame
|This uncut formal court robe fragment would have been woven to be worn by the emperor, an imperial family member or high rank court official figure. For the design and images of formal court robes with quadrilobed front-facing dragon panels, refer to Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Wenwu Zhenpin Quanji 51: Qingdai Gongting Fushi (The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum 51: Costume and Accessories of the Qing Court) (Hong Kong, 2005), p.17, plate 8, pp. 26-31, plates 13-16.