A Rare Black-Ground Brocade-Woven Silk Dragon Robe, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi / Yongzheng Period

A Rare Black-Ground Brocade-Woven Silk Dragon Robe, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi / Yongzheng Period

finely brocaded in gold thread with a large central five-clawed dragon on the front and back, encircling a flaming pearl with seven attendant dragons, two pairs above the lishui hem near the base, two on the shoulders and one on the interior flap, reserved on a ruyi-cloud ground picked-out in red, pink, blue, green and mustard yellow. horizontal length 74 in., 188 cm. Estimate 50,000—70,000 USD

PROVENANCE: Property of an East Coast Family.

NOTE: Black ground chi-fu robes are among the rarest of the colors. Very few black robes from the early Qing dynasty exist today. Compare a mid-Qing dynasty black-ground robe with four-clawed dragons in the National Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 51, Hong Kong, 2005, no. 40.

Sotheby's. Chinese Works of Art. 17 Mar 09.New York www.sothebys.com Photo courtesy Sotheby's