A RARE EMBROIDERED SILK 'ORIOLE' RANK BADGE Second half of the 19th centuryPROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DAVID AND NANCY HUGUSA RARE EMBROIDERED SILK 'ORIOLE' RANK BADGESecond half of the 19th centurySquare with a scarlet-red ground, centered by a white oriole with a vibrant yellow belly and violet legs perched on a blue rockwork emerging from a roiling sea, auspicious emblems emerging from the waves, polychrome ruyi-form clouds and a red sun in the sky, all bordered by double bands in yellow, the reverse lined with sky-blue silk.11 7/8 x 13 7/8in (30.2 x 35.2cm)十九世紀晚期 刺繡金鶯八品文官補子Published:Hugus, David, Chinese Rank Badges: Symbols of Power, Wealth, and Intellect in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, 2002, fig. 13.37.In the Ming dynasty, the 'oriole' rank badge was worn by civil officials of the eighth rank. However, in the early Qing dynasty, in 1652, court dress regulations were modified, and this bird was assigned to court musicians. Very few examples of this badge survive from the Qing dynasty, and the ones that do have a very similar appearance, irrespective of the date of manufacture. This homogeneity is likely because, unlike court officials who were dispersed across the empire, court musicians all appeared alongside one another at the capital, so uniformity in appearance would have been desirable. The attribution of the present badge to the latter half of the 19th century is due to the use of aniline 'Perkin's purple' dye on the bird's legs and two clouds, which was not developed until 1856. For another 'oriole' rank badge, but attributed to the early 18th century, see one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. 36.65.16).Dr. David Hugus is a renowned collector of Chinese rank badges, and an international authority on the subject. Prior to embarking on this pursuit, Dr. Hugus served with honor in the United States military. During his numerous tours in Asia and elsewhere, he earned a Masters in Science and a doctorate degree in Operations Research Systems Analyst (ORSA) from the Naval Postgraduate School, as well as a Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, and other distinctions. Upon reading an article by Schuyler Cammann of the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, Dr. Hugus discovered Chinese rank badges and took it upon himself to expand the canon of English-language scholarship on this topic. Since then, he has published Ladder to the Clouds: Intrigue and Tradition in Chinese Rank (2000, co-authored with Beverley Jackson) and Chinese Rank Badges: Symbols of Power, Wealth, and Intellect in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2022). Over the course of his scholarship, Dr. Hugus and his wife, Nancy, have develop a distinguished collection of Chinese rank badges, textiles, and other works of art.