21st Jun, 2023 14:00 GMT+1/BST

The Mr Steven Philip Collection (part 1) & Passion for Fashion

 
Lot 557
 

A fine and rare Imperial women's summer dragon robe, longpao, Chinese, late 19th century

the bright yellow silk-gauze ground couched with gilt metal and embroidered with coloured silk threads with four roundels of front-facing five-clawed dragons to chest, shoulders and back, and side-facing dragons to the remaining five roundels on the lower half exterior and the inside flap, each chasing flaming pearls set amongst cloud-scrolls and bats clutching wan symbols, the collar and sleeves applied with navy silk-gauze decorated with additional long dragons and symbols, cuffs lined with pale blue silk, height 145cm 57in, chest 152cm 60in

The present robe is of silk gauze ground and would have been worn in the warmer summer months. It is the third style of longpao as codified by the Qianlong emperor's 1759 masterwork Illustrated Regulations for Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Present Dynasty, designated for use by the empress or empress dowager. While the first style was similar in appearance to that of the emperor's dragon robe, as Gary Dickinson and Linda Wrigglesworth describe in Imperial Wardrobe (1990) "Only the empresses could wear the second and third types of long pao." The second type includes a lishui border at the hem, but the third and rarest kind omits this, allowing the dragon motifs to stand uninhibited on the outfit. The present robe would have been made during the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi, and a Qing court painting from c.1870-74 depicts her wearing a yellow dragon robe, her hair adorned with flower ornaments that were typical of her style. Another portrait from a hanging scroll in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing depicts Cixi wearing a yellow dragon and pearl collar in front of a bamboo screen, c.1875-1908. Cixi was photographed c.1903-05 wearing a dragon robe while sitting on the throne.

A similar example of a dragon robe of the third style, dated to the Qianlong period (1736-1795) is in the University of Alberta Museums, Mactaggart Art Collection. A fur-lined winter example of a similar robe in the third style is held in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, accession number T.766-1950.

For similar illustrated examples of longpao in the third style see:
Gary Dickinson and Linda Wrigglesworth describe in Imperial Wardrobe, London, 1990, p.195, Pl.176
John Vollmer, Ruling from the Dragon Throne, Berkeley, 2002, p. 92 Fig. 4.9.
J. Vollmer and J. Simcox in Emblems of Empire: Selections from the MacTaggart Art Collection, Alberta, 2009, pp. 38-39

Sold for £30,000

Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)


 

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(a) The contractual relationship of Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd &. and Sellers with prospective Buyers is governed by:-
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(ii) the Conditions of Business for Sellers displayed in the saleroom and available from Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd;
(iii) Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd’s Authenticity Guarantee;
(iv) any additional notices and terms printed in the sale catalogue, in each case as amended by any saleroom notice or auctioneer’s announcement.
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“Seller” is the person offering a lot for sale, including their agent, or executors;
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“Hammer Price” is the highest bid for the Property accepted by the auctioneer at the auction or the post auction sale price;
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“Reserve Price” (where applicable) is the minimum Hammer Price at which the Seller has agreed to sell a lot.

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(b) All oral and/or written information provided to Bidders relating to lots, including descriptions in the catalogue, condition reports or elsewhere are statements of KT’s opinion and not representations of fact. Estimates may not be relied on as a prediction of the selling price or value of the lot and may be revised from time to time at KT’s absolute discretion.

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(a) KT shall refund the Purchase Price to the Buyer in circumstances where it deems that the lot is a Counterfeit, subject to the terms of KT’s Authenticity Guarantee.
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(i) is liable for any errors or omissions in any oral or written information provided to Bidders by KT, whether negligent or otherwise;
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(b) Title in a lot will not pass to the Buyer until KT has received the Purchase Price in cleared funds. KT will generally not release a lot to a Buyer before payment. Earlier release shall not affect passing of title or the Buyer’s obligation to pay the Purchase Price, as above.
(c) The refusal of any licence or permit required by law, as outlined in Condition 6, shall not affect the Buyer’s obligation to pay for the lot, as per Condition 8(a).
(d) The Buyer must arrange collection of lots within 10 working days of the auction. Purchased lots are at the Buyer’s risk from the earliest of (i) collection or (ii) 10 working days after the auction. Until risk passes, KT will compensate the Buyer for any loss or damage to the lot up to a maximum of the Purchase Price actually paid by the Buyer. KT’s assumption of risk is subject to the exclusions detailed in Condition 5(d) of the Conditions of Business for Sellers.
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9. Remedies for non-payment
Without prejudice to any rights that the Seller may have, if the Buyer without prior agreement fails to make payment for the lot within 5 working days of the auction,KT may in its sole discretion exercise 1 or more of the following remedies:-

(a) store the lot at its premises or elsewhere at the Buyer’s sole risk and expense;
(b) cancel the sale of the lot;
(c) set off any amounts owed to the Buyer by KT against any amounts owed to KT by the Buyer for the lot;
(d) reject future bids from the Buyer;
(e) charge interest at 4% per annum above The Bank of England’s Base Rate from the Payment Date to the date that the Purchase Price is received in cleared funds;
(f) re-sell the lot by auction or privately, with estimates and reserves at KT’s discretion, in which case the Buyer will
be liable for any shortfall between the original Purchase Price and the amount achieved on re-sale, including all costs incurred in such re-sale;(g) exercise a lien over any Buyer’s Property in KT’s possession, applying the sale proceeds to any amounts owed by the Buyer to KT. KT shall give the Buyer 14 days written notice before exercising such lien;
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(i) disclose the Buyer’s details to the Seller to enable the Seller to commence legal proceedings.
(j) disclose the Buyer’s details to other auction houses and any third parties as we see fit

10. Failure to collect purchases
(a) If the Buyer pays the Purchase Price but does not collect the lot within 14 working days of the auction, the lot will be stored at the Buyer’s expense and risk at KT’s premises or in independent storage.
(b) If a lot is paid for but uncollected within 6 months of the auction, following 60 days written notice to the Buyer, KT will re-sell the lot by auction or privately, with estimates and reserves at KT’s discretion. The sale proceeds, less all KT’s costs, will be forfeited unless collected by the Buyer within 2 years of the original auction.

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Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd Authenticity Guarantee
If Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd sells an item of Property which is later shown to be a “Counterfeit”, subject to the terms below Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd will rescind the sale and refund the Buyer the total amount paid by the Buyer to Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd for that Property, up to a maximum of the Purchase Price.

The Guarantee lasts for one (1) year after the date of the relevant auction, is for the benefit of the Buyer only and is non-transferable.

“Counterfeit” means an item of Property that in Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd ‘s reasonable opinion is an imitation created with the intent to deceive over the authorship, origin, date, age, period, culture or source, where the correct description of such matters is not included in the catalogue description for the Property.
Property shall not be considered Counterfeit solely because of any damage and/or restoration and/or modification work .

Please note that this Guarantee does not apply if either:-
(i) the catalogue description was in accordance with the generally acceptedopinions of scholars and experts at the date of the sale, or the catalogue description indicated that there was a conflict of such opinions; or
(ii) the only method of establishing at the date of the sale that the item was a Counterfeit would have been by means of processes not then generally available or accepted, unreasonably expensive or impractical; or likely to have caused damage to or loss in value to the Property (in Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd’s reasonable opinion); or
(iii) there has been no material loss in value of the Property from its value had it  accorded with its catalogue description.

To claim under this Guarantee, the Buyer must:-
(i) notify Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd in writing within one (1) month of receiving any information that causes the Buyer to
question the authenticity or attribution of the Property, specifying the lot number,
date of the auction at which it was
purchased and the reasons why it is believed to be Counterfeit; and
(ii) return the Property to Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd in the same condition as at the date of sale and be able to transfer good title in the Property, free from any third party claims arising after the date of the sale.

Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd has discretion to waive any of the above requirements. Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd may require the Buyer to obtain at the Buyer’s cost the reports of two independent and recognised experts in the relevant field. Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd shall not be bound by any reports produced by the Buyer, and reserves the right to seek additional expert advice at its own expense. In the event Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd decides to rescind the sale under this Guarantee, it may refund to the Buyer the reasonable costs of up to two mutually approved independent expert reports, provided always that the costs of such reports have been approved in advance and in writing by Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd.

 

Last updated: 23rd May 2014

 
 

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