A ‘NINE DRAGON’ SILK BROCADE BOOK COVER, PROBABLY FROM THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY
China, 19th century. Of square form, finely woven with silver, gold, and turquoise threads (rare) on an imperial-yellow ground with a central front-facing five-clawed dragon writhing around a large flaming pearl. He is surrounded by lingzhi-shaped clouds and wispy flames, and encircled by eight smaller dragons, all pursuing flaming pearls along the border with terrestrial diagrams and lishui stripe separated by clouds and crashing waves.


Provenance:
London trade. The reverse with an old label, ‘No. 40, Peking, Ching’.

Condition:
Very good condition with only minor wear, few loose threads, and minimal soiling to the back.

Dimensions: 77.2 x 75.3 cm


Literature comparison:

Compare a closely related book cover, described as “used for wrapping books in the imperial library”, of larger size (106 x 108 cm), in the Museum of Anthropology, University of British Colombia, accession number N1.17, from the Bernulf and Edith Clegg Oriental Collection.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 6 November 2019, lot 111
Price: GBP 5,000 or approx.
EUR 7,700
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A pale yellow-ground silk brocade ‘dragon’ panel, Qing dynasty, 19th century
Expert remark: Compare the related motif and manner of weaving. Note the size (73.5 x 72.5 cm).




九龍紋書藉鋪蓋


中國，十九世紀。方形，黃地以金銀線和綠松石色線精細編織，正面中央有一條五爪龍，圍繞著一顆巨大的火珠。四周如意祥雲圍繞，八條小龍戲珠，邊框江崖麗水紋。


來源：
倫敦古玩交易，背面有老標籤，可見 ‘No. 40, Peking, Ching’。

品相：
狀況非常好，只有輕微磨損，少量線頭鬆脫與背面的污垢。

尺寸：77.2 x 75.3 厘米


文獻比較：

比較一件非常相近的書套，描述為「用於包裝皇家圖書館的書籍」，尺寸較大 (106 x 108厘米)，收藏於英數哥倫比亞大學人類學博物館，館藏編號N1.17，來自Bernulf和Edith Clegg東方收藏。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦蘇富比， 2019年11月6日，lot 111
價格：GBP 5,000（相當於今日
EUR 7,700
）
描述：清十九世紀黃地錦織五龍趕珠紋墊面
專家評論：比較相近的主題和刺繡風格。請注意尺寸(73.5 x 72.5厘米)。