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Auction Location:
Sydney
Date:
31-Aug-2017
Lot No.
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Description:
A fine example of a Chinese Manchurian lady's Waistcoat, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), circa 1870, worn by a lady in waiting to the Empress of China. The bright blue silk damask, woven with butterflies and prunus blossom. The black borders are embroidered with bamboo, cherry blossom and more butterflies. The black border is edged with a ribbon of flowers. Lined in turquoise blue silk. Extremely unusual and exceptionally elegant, 76 x 140 cm, in perspex case measuring 131 cm wide, 16 cm deep, 162 cm high. Provenance: Purchased from Linda Wrigglesworth, London in 1991, 'Echoes from china' Exhibition, Irving Galleries, 3203, catalogue no. 128. Other Notes: It was the waistcoats 'Chaogua', worn over the court robes that gave the women's court dress its distinctive patterns. All were blue-black in background, though their rich decoration was subtly expressive of the Imperial splendour of the court.
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Oriental: Textiles & Costume