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Lot 22
A purple-ground kesi 'Eight Immortals' Daoist robe of desent, jiangyi 19th century
2 April 2025, 16:00 AEDT
SydneySold for AU$71,340 inc. premium
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A purple-ground kesi 'Eight Immortals' Daoist robe of desent, jiangyi
19th century
134.0cm long, 170.0cm wide
134.0cm long, 170.0cm wide
Footnotes
Provenance:
Linda Wrigglesworth, London, 18 Mar 1983 (receipt)
清十九世紀 紫地緙絲「八仙」袶衣
傳承：
倫敦 Linda Wrigglesworth，1981年3月18日（收據）
This type of Daoist robe, square in shape, is known as jiangyi or 'robe of descent,' and is the most important type of Daoist ritual robe. Symbols from the Daoist universe adorn the robe, linking the priest to the Cosmo, and heavily on the back as the priest would have his back to his supplicants: that for the sun, moon and stars surrounding heaven, which is depicted here as a multi-storied tower encircled with gold discs representing stars, encircled by seven roundels depicting the Eight Immortals, attributes of the Immortals scattered amidst a background of cloud and bats. Symbolically, the priest wearing the jiangyi became the animator of ritual and was imagined to promote celestial order, contributing to stability on earth. Compare with a very similar robe, in red and decorated with the same motif of Daoist heaven and 'Immortal' roundels, see Power Dressing: Textiles for Rulers and Priests from the Chris Hall Collection, Asian Civilisation Museum, Singapore:2006, p.420-421, pl.150. Jiangyi from the Qing dynasty can be found in various public institution, see the Metropolitan Museum, acc.no.30.75.3, acc.no.30.75.3, Minnesota Institute of Art, acc.no.42.8.300. An embroidered blue ground jiayi was sold with Christie's, New York, 29 Sep 2022, lot 93.
袶衣，又稱「絳衣」，其「絳」在字義上應為深紅色，後來逐漸演變成高功法服的一種稱謂。絳衣之型式對襟，方正不裁袖。此件袶衣，後背滿工日月天庭、三衡、五嶽、八仙、八卦。與之工藝紋飾最相近者，當是 Chris Hall 收藏中一件紅地緙絲絳衣，見Power Dressing: Textiles for Rulers and Priests from the Chris Hall Collection, Asian Civilisation Museum, 新加坡:2006, 頁 420-421, 圖版150. 各大館藏中其他清代絳衣，見紐約大都會博物館，acc.no.30.75.3，acc.no.30.75.3，明尼蘇達美術館acc.no.42.8.300。佳士得紐約2022年9月29日釋出一藏青緞綉絳衣，見拍品93號。