Edward Luper
Specialist, Chinese Works of Art
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Lot 279
A RARE EMBROIDERED SILK MANCHU NOBLEWOMAN'S FESTIVE HAT, JIGUAN 19th century
2 November 2021, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £2,805 inc. premium
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A RARE EMBROIDERED SILK MANCHU NOBLEWOMAN'S FESTIVE HAT, JIGUAN
19th century
Of domed shape, the upturned brim lined with sea-otter fur surrounding a domed crown finely decorated in various shades of pink and green threads with flowering prunus branches and large red peaches, all on a vibrant blue ground beneath a red silk Endless Knot, suspending two red silk streamers at the rear, each decorated with gold thread designs depicting the Auspicious Emblems within a double ruyi frame. The hat 22cm (8 5/8in) diam.; the kerchief 78.5cm (30 6/8in) long.
Of domed shape, the upturned brim lined with sea-otter fur surrounding a domed crown finely decorated in various shades of pink and green threads with flowering prunus branches and large red peaches, all on a vibrant blue ground beneath a red silk Endless Knot, suspending two red silk streamers at the rear, each decorated with gold thread designs depicting the Auspicious Emblems within a double ruyi frame. The hat 22cm (8 5/8in) diam.; the kerchief 78.5cm (30 6/8in) long.
Footnotes
十九世紀 海狸皮冬季女吉服冠
Provenance: Linda Wrigglesworth, London, early 1990's
來源：二十世紀九十年代早期，倫敦Linda Wrigglesworth
Festive hats, such as the present example, were known as jiguan and completed the semi-formal outfit worn by Manchu noblewomen and noblemen, which comprised of a side-fastening silk robe decorated with five-clawed dragons, footwear, belts, purses and a surcoat.
Women's festive hats resemble the shape of the Emperor's winter hats and were embellished with a pair of wide streamers decorated with auspicious symbols, which were inserted through a horizontal slit in the brim and hung down her back to below the waist.
Compare with a similarly-shaped silk hat for an Empress or concubine, Qing dynasty, capped with a similar red silk endless knot, as the present example, from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures from the Palace Museum: Costumes and Accessories of the Qing Court, Shanghai, 2006, no.165. See also two related embroidered silk Manchu noblewomen's festive hats, each suspending a pair of streamers, 19th century, the first in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, illustrated by J.Vollmer, Ruling From the Dragon Throne. Costumes of the Qing Dynasty, Berkeley, 2002, p.133, fig.4.50; and the second is illustrated by V.Garrett, Chinese Dress: from the Qing Dynasty to the Present, Clarendon, VM, 2008, p.41, fig.65.