CHINE清 十八世纪末-十九世纪初 红地盘金龙纳纱女吉服

CHINE清 十八世纪末-十九世纪初 红地盘金龙纳纱女吉服
Exceptional Jifu imperial summer dress in coral silk gauze, with round neck. The main decoration of eight dragons with five claws was reserved for the dowager empress and shows the important position of the owner of this garment in the court hierarchy. The dress is entirely embroidered in half cross-stitch in blue, white, pink, red, yellow and gold threads. The dragons are embroidered in Boulogne stitch with gold thread, moving around the sacred pearl, surrounded by lingzhi, bats, longevity peaches, harmony fish, poppy flowers and peach trees, symbolizing fertility and abundance. The eight Buddhist emblems correspond to the dominant religion at the imperial court of the Qing. The sleeve and cuff have the same relatively flared width. The lower part of the robe is decorated with lishui and foaming waves that evoke primordial waters, where jiangya rocks and numerous blooming peony flowers symbolize the wealth and prosperity of the state. This richly decorated border and the rich colour gradations used make this dress a rare example of late 18th century embroidery, of which the Jiangsu, Guangdong, Hunan and Sichuan workshops are the most refined representatives.
Unlike the Chaofu court dress, the Jifu dress falls into the category of semi-official court dress, worn during festivities. The shape of this dress is taken from traditional Manchu dress, like all costumes from the Qing Dynasty, which made it a point of honour from the moment it came to power to claim its non-Han origins, in opposition to the previous dynasty. The Manchu dress is characterized by hoof cuffs - worn rolled-up or not depending on the occasion - and by its consequent length, while traditional Chinese outfits include a skirt and a mid-length tunic, worn over trousers. The neck