A RARE IMPERIAL YELLOW-GROUND SILK EMBROIDERED THRONE-CUSHION COVER Qianlong

128.7cm (50 1/2in) wide x 116.8cm (46in) wide.

Finely embroidered with a summer scene of layered rocks rising in peaks from rolling waves, the group of jagged rocks picked up in blue threads surrounding a tall paulownia tree, flanked by further rocks issuing flowering peony branches and large peaches, all on a vibrant yellow ground interspersed with wispy clouds and bats, mounted.

清乾隆 御製明黃地福壽紋座褥

Provenance: Jacqueline Simcox Ltd., London, June 2008
An English private collection

來源：倫敦古董商Jacquelin Simcox Ltd.，2008年6月
英國私人收藏

Finely embroidered in multi-coloured counted stitch and wrapped gold thread with a paulownia tree rising from the terrestrial diagram, reaching up to the heavens, flanked by fruiting branches bearing nine large peaches and peony stems, this remarkable panel would have likely served as cover to a throne cushion gracing one of the halls within the Forbidden City.

Throne cushions provided decoration and comfort to the wide thrones and raised kang platforms placed throughout the ceremonial halls and principal residencies of the Forbidden City. Set with low tables and cushions, these heated brick platforms became a focus of domestic activity especially during the colder months. These platforms served as couches, seats and beds, and their cushions were often decorated with delicate tendril patterns and floral designs, such as the present panel. Regardless of the thematic content, cushion decoration was always symmetrically arranged and throughout the Qing dynasty, most textiles commissioned by the Palace were designed by Court artists working for the 'Wish-Fulfilling Studio' Ruyiguan; see J.Vollmer, Imperial Silks. Ch'ing Dynasty Textiles in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MA, 2000, pp.827-828.

The Imperial Household Department regularly sent specifications for decorative furnishing to one of the three southern Imperial Workshops centres for fabrication. The rigidity of traditional furniture and the luxurious taste of the Chinese elites resulted in a variety of upholstered covering which were at the same time functional, decorative and hierarchal.

Compare with a very similar yellow-ground throne cushion, Qianlong, in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, illustrated by S.Jenyns, Chinese Art: The Minor Arts, New York, 1963, no.11.