A WOMAN’S MIDNIGHT-BLUE-GROUND KESI SILK INFORMAL SURCOAT, CHANGPAO, CHINA, MID-19TH CENTURY

Expert’s note:
The surcoats made for the highest-ranking female members of the Qing society were decorated by eight roundels above elaborate lishui borders at the hem, such as displayed on the present lot. See V. Garrett, Dragon Robes, Oxford, 1998, page 35, and J. Vollmer, Imperial Silks: Ch'ing Dynasty Textiles from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2000, page 54.

The front-opening surcoat finely woven on the front and back panels with eight symmetrically-placed roundels with birds in flight amid blossoming peony, lotus, prunus, and magnolia, borne on leafy vines above a vase, picked out in vibrant shades of salmon, blue, yellow, red, green, and gold against a midnight-blue ground. All above lishui stripe interspersed with Buddhist symbols, the cuffs similarly decorated with lishui, each sleeve further with three smaller, similarly decorated roundels. The collar with an original gilt-metal button.


Provenance
: An important private collection of an American connoisseur and collector of Chinese robes.

Condition
: Good condition with only minor wear, minuscule splits and losses, few minor old repairs, little soiling.

Dimensions: Length 147 cm, Width 178 cm (across sleeves)


Garments decorated with roundels
originally signaled formality. This decorative scheme can be traced to the Tang dynasty and may have been influenced by Western Asian traditions; see Huang Nengfu and Chen Juanjuan, Origins of the Art of the Chinese National Costume, Beijing, 1994, p. 209; see also J. Watt and A. Wardwell, When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles, New York, 1998, pp. 21-29.


Medallions decorated with seasonal flowers
, butterflies, cranes, and other auspicious imagery underscoring the wishes for good fortunes, wealth, happiness, typically indicated the informal nature of the occasions for which the surcoats were worn. Roundel schemes were particularly popular during the Ming dynasty for both Court and unofficial wear and the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty appear to have continued this tradition. By the eighteenth century, the formal design of a distinct wave border at the hem appears to have become the favored style.


The kesi technique
is a particularly intricate way of introducing pattern within the weave of the fabric: the various colors are woven on separate bobbins creating the 'cut' effect at the boundaries between the colors, hence the name kesi or 'cut silk'. The technique is extremely time-consuming and skilled, achieving a reverse that is often as well-presented as the front of the fabric.


Literature comparison:

Compare a closely related kesi silk midnight-blue-ground robe, 186.5 cm wide, dated to the mid-19th century, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 42.8.88, illustrated in Robert D. Jacobsen, Imperial Silks: Ch'ing Dynasty Textiles in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2000, vol. 1, p. 269. Compare also a related kesi silk medallion robe, 141 cm long, dated to the 19th century, Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 42.8.91.


Auction result comparison
:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams London, 2 November 2021, lot 278
Price: GBP 10,837.50 or approx.
EUR 15,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare midnight-blue-ground silk embroidered 'butterfly and double-gourd' informal surcoat, changpao, early 19th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related roundel decoration and midnight-blue ground. Note the embroidery technique, while the present lot is woven in kesi, and the smaller size (141 cm).




十九世紀中期石青地貴婦緙絲團花棉褂


長褂為石青色，圓領對襟，平口袖，後開裾。以圓緙織八團花，周圍用五彩絲線織流雲海水點綴，下擺織壽山福海及雜寶紋樣。鎏金扣。


專家注釋
：
為清代最尊貴的女性製作的長褂，下擺處飾有精緻的麗水紋，上面有八個團花裝飾，如本拍品所示。 參見 V. Garrett，《Dragon Robes》，牛津，1998 年，第 35 頁，以及 J. Vollmer，《Imperial Silks: Ch'ing Dynasty Textiles from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts》，2000 年，第 54 頁。


來源：
美國一位中國長袍鑑賞家和收藏家的私人收藏。

品相：
狀況良好，只有輕微磨損、微小裂痕，小修，輕微污漬。

尺寸：長147 厘米, 寬178 厘米 (兩袖之間)


帶有圓形裝飾的服裝最初用於正式場合
。這種裝飾圖案可以追溯到唐代，可能受到西亞的影響； 見黃能馥、陳娟娟，《中華服飾藝術源流》，北京，1994年，第17頁。 209； 另見 J. Watt 和 A. Wardwell，《When Silk Was Gold：Central Asian and Chinese Textiles》，紐約，1998 年，第 21-29 頁。


飾有時令花卉
、蝴蝶、仙鶴和其他吉祥圖案的團花紋體現了對好運、財富、幸福的祝愿，通常表明穿著外套的場合的非正式性質。 圓形圖案在明代在宮廷和非正式服裝中特別流行，清朝的滿族統治者似乎延續了這一傳統。 到了十八世紀，下擺獨特的波浪形邊框的正式設計似乎已成為受歡迎的風格。


緙絲
是中國傳統的一種絲織品，其特色是以緙織方式織造，緯線並不橫貫全幅，而僅在需要處與經線交織，稱為「通經斷緯」法。其成品正反兩面如一，在不同色彩的輪廓之間並不相連，憑空背光觀察可見點點孔隙，有如以刀鏤刻而成。


文獻比較：


比較一件非常相近的十九世紀中期暗藍色緙絲長袍，寬186.5 釐米，收藏於明尼亞波利斯藝術博物館，館藏編號42.8.88，見Robert D. Jacobsen，《Imperial Silks: Ch'ing Dynasty Textiles in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts》，2000年，卷一，頁269。比較一件相近的十九世紀緙絲徽章朝袍，長141 釐米，收藏於明尼亞波利斯藝術博物館，館藏編號42.8.91。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦邦瀚斯，2021年11月2日，lot 278
價格：GBP 10,837.50（相當於今日
EUR 15,000
）
描述：十九世紀早期石青緞繡瓜瓞綿綿紋袍
專家評論：比較非常相近的圓形裝飾和暗藍色地。請注意刺繡技巧、緙絲和尺寸較小 (141 釐米)。