AN IMPERIAL MIDNIGHT-BLUE EMBROIDERED WOMAN'S SURCOAT, LONGGUA

18th/early 19th century

18th/early 19th century
The front-opening coat secured by five gilt-metal buttons, intricately embroidered with eight five-clawed dragon roundels, the roundels on the front, back and shoulders enclosing front-facing dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls, the remainder with side-facing dragons clutching flaming pearls, each dragon worked in couched gold and silver-wrapped threads and surrounded by dense cloud scrolls with bats and tongues of flame over churning waves, the hem embroidered with a wide lishui stripe border with a band of clouds and terrestrial diagrams rising from churning waves throwing up auspicious objects, lined with blue silk.
60 3/4in (154.4cm) long

十八/十九世紀初 御製石青緞繡盤金八團龍龍褂

Imperial consorts and noblewomen wore this type of front-opening surcoat called longgua. An illustration of a longgua from the Huangchao liqi tushi (Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial court) commissioned by the Qianlong emperor in 1759 is reproduced by Gary Dickinson and Linda Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, Berkeley, 2000, pl.170, p.188 and an embroidered longgua is illustrated ibid, pl.171, p.189. A late 18th century kesi example is illustrated by John E. Vollmer, Silks for Thrones and Altars, Paris, 2003, pp.42-43.

A Jiaqing period embroidered gauze example was sold at Christie's New York, 22-23 March 2018, lot 979.