Footnotes

Provenance:
Linda Wrigglesworth, London, 7 Jan 1984 (invoice)

清十九世紀中葉 御製明黃緙絲十二章龍袍

傳承：
Linda Wrigglesworth，倫敦，1984年1月7日（賬單）

Longpao, or the dragon robe, is a type of Jifu, festive gown. According to the Illustrated Regulations for Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Imperial Dynasty (Huangchao Liqi Tushi), "the Emperor's dragon robe is to use bright yellow, with dark navy collar and cuffs with golden borders. Patterned with nine golden dragons, twelve symbols, and five-colour cloud. Front facing dragons each on the chest and back, a pair of side-facing dragons below both front and back, and one under the outer flap, front facing dragons on the shoulders. All above a band of the eight Buddhist emblems amongst vertical waves. The hem opens at the centre. Use cotton, silk, gauze, and fur according to the seasons."

Of numerous dragon robes we see today, the bright yellow and the usage of the twelve symbols all at once are reserved for the emperors only. The origin of the symbols, known as the Twelve Symbols of Ancient Imperial Authority, can be traced back to as early as the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 BC to 256 BC). The tradition of adorning these symbols on official robes continues to the early 20th century in China. Only the emperor has the right to wear all the them, and the reduced numbers of these symbols on official robes to group of 9, 7, and 5 dictates the reduction of ranks of the wearers.

On an emperor's gown, such as the current lot, the symbols are arranged in three groups, located at the neck, waist, and knee level. The first group around the neck: the sun and the moon above the 'shoulder' dragons, the star and mountain above the 'chest' and 'back' dragons. They refer to the orders to which the emperor makes sacrifices during the year, which are conducted at four Imperial alters. When seated at the throne, the four symbols on the emperor's robe and the four corresponding alters are all aligned with the cardinal points of the compass. The second group at the waist: the axe and the fu, the dragons and the pheasant, each pair flanking the 'chest' and the 'back' dragons. The last group at the knee: the temple cups, aquatic grass, grains of millet, and flames. These symbols on one hand refer to the virtues demanded for, and powers wielded by an emperor, on another, also correspond to the ancient Chinese philosophy of naturalism and Taoism. By embodying all twelve symbols, the emperor assumes the ultimate power bestowed upon him from the heaven, literally becoming the 'son of heaven', the Chinese term for 'emperor'.

This kesi robe is a classic example of a mid-nineteenth century emperor's jifu. The dragons are worked in metallic gold threads with clouds almost exclusively in shades of blue against a yellow ground. The "five colours" of the clouds have been rendered as small colour accents throughout. The reasons for this variation were not recorded and most probably reflected fashionable tastes, rather than ritual requirements. Among the earliest examples of the predominant blue and yellow schema for an emperor's twelve-symbol dragon robe is an embroidered satin robe in a London collection that dates to the late eighteenth century. See Dickinson and Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, London, 1990, p.33, pl.23. However, most surviving pieces, like this example, date from the nineteenth century. See J. E. Vollmer, Decoding Dragons: Status Garments in Ch'ing dynasty China, Eugene, Oregon, Museum of Art, 1983. pp.143 and 209. For other comparable examples, see Christie's New York, 23 Mar 2018, lot 976, Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 Oct 2013, lot 3086, and Bonhams London, 5 Nov 2020, lot 115.

龍袍，吉服一種，用於節慶與重大儀式。《大清會典圖》中記載：「皇帝之龍袍須用明黃色，領口與袖口為藏青色，並配以金線鑲邊。紋飾包括九條金龍、十二章紋及五朵彩雲。胸前和背後各繡正龍，胸下和背下各繡行龍，左右兩肩各有一條正龍，另有一條繡於衣襟底部。衣袍下擺飾八寶立水紋，衣擺於中綫分襟，根據季節選用棉、絲、羅或裘皮製成。」
十二章紋的起源，可追溯至周代（約公元前1046年至公元前256年）。作為象徵皇權的標誌，十二章紋的傳統延續至20世紀初，而章紋數量的減少（如九、七或五章）則用於區分官員的等級與地位。
皇帝龍袍上的十二章紋按照頸部、腰部和膝部的三個分組排列。第一組在頸部：「日」、「月」於左右肩部正龍之上，「星辰」、「山岳」於胸背正龍之上，象徵皇帝一年四季祭祀的對象。當皇帝端坐於御座時，龍袍上的四個章紋與紫禁城四大祭壇（日月天地）的方位遙相對應。第二組位於腰部：「黼」、「黻」、「龍」與「華蟲」，各自位於胸背正龍的兩側，象徵皇權的威嚴與品德。第三組在膝部：「宗彜」、「藻」、「粉米」與「火」。這些章紋一方面體現皇帝應有的德行與所掌權力，另一方面也呼應中國古代自然哲學與道家思想。即黃袍加身，皇帝被賦予「天命之子」的至高權威，象徵天命加身。
這件緙絲龍袍是19世紀中期皇帝吉服的經典範例。龍紋以金線織成，雲紋主要呈藍色，雲紋的「五彩」僅點綴於小雲頭，這種變化並未見於正式記錄，可能反映了當時的審美潮流，以藍黃配色製成的皇帝十二章紋龍袍，可追溯至18世紀末期，倫敦某收藏中的一件緞繡龍袍即為早期範例，詳見Imperial Wardrobe，Dickinson 及Wrigglesworth著，1990年，倫敦，第33頁，圖版23。大多現存例子，如此拍品，均來自19世紀。更多類似的例子可見於Vollmer，Decoding Dragons: Status Garments in Ch'ing Dynasty China，1983年，美國俄勒岡州尤金藝術博物館，第143和209頁。其他類似拍品請參考佳士得，紐約，2018年3月23日，拍品編號976，蘇富比，香港，2013年10月8日，拍品編號3086，以及邦瀚斯，倫敦，2020年11月5日，拍品編號115。