An chinese imperial KESI EMBROIDERED DRAGON ROBE
This elegant robe is finely woven with The Twelve Symbols of Imperial Authority, which were prescribed by official dress edicts and first appeared on the Manchu emperor’s clothing in 1759. These symbols were superimposed on the general decorative scheme of Qing court garments, and could only be worn by the emperor, empress, empress dowager, and crown prince. Yellow robes, like the present robe, could only be worn by the emperor and empress. These symbols are arranged in three groups of four: the sun, the moon, constellation, mountain, fu symbol, axe, paired dragons, golden pheasant, pair of libation cups, aquatic grass, grains of millet and flames. Kesi robes are of the most desirable and difficult to preserve, due to the delicate nature of the technique and painterly outcome of the design. They come in varying quality, particularly in the nineteenth century, but the delicate outlining and fine shading, rather than painting, of the Twelve Symbols on the present robe indicate that it is of the highest quality. This robe would likely have taken at least two years to complete.
Dimension: L. 192 cm. W. 134 cm.

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