Robe
1796-1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This surcoat is known as a bufu (literally, 'the robe with a badge'), worn over ceremonial or formal robes during ritual and court ceremonies during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
This particular example would have been worn by a prince, and ought to be distinguished from the Emperor's surcoat (the gunfu) or those worn by the Crown Prince (the long gua).
According to the Huangchao Liqi Tushi ('Illustrations of Imperial Ritual Paraphernalia'), the front roundel on an Emperor's gunfu must have the "five-coloured clouds", a shou (longevity) character above the front-facing five-clawed dragons, and symbols of the sun and the moon respectively in the roundels on each shoulder, to symbolise his authority in the cosmos to perform sacrifices. The roundels worn by the Crown Prince would not bear the shou character, nor the symbols of the sun and moon, but will have the clouds of five colours. These elements are absent from the roundels in this bufu, but the four roundels of front-facing dragons indicate that the robe would have been worn by one of the other imperial princes.
This particular example would have been worn by a prince, and ought to be distinguished from the Emperor's surcoat (the gunfu) or those worn by the Crown Prince (the long gua).
According to the Huangchao Liqi Tushi ('Illustrations of Imperial Ritual Paraphernalia'), the front roundel on an Emperor's gunfu must have the "five-coloured clouds", a shou (longevity) character above the front-facing five-clawed dragons, and symbols of the sun and the moon respectively in the roundels on each shoulder, to symbolise his authority in the cosmos to perform sacrifices. The roundels worn by the Crown Prince would not bear the shou character, nor the symbols of the sun and moon, but will have the clouds of five colours. These elements are absent from the roundels in this bufu, but the four roundels of front-facing dragons indicate that the robe would have been worn by one of the other imperial princes.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Woven silk with metallic thread, lined with silk |
| Brief description | Surcoat of woven silk and gilt thread, possibly Hangzhou, 1796-1850 |
| Physical description | Surcoat of navy blue silk with four woven gold five-clawed dragon medallions and trimmed with sable. The coat has short straight sleeves and opens down the centre front. The skirts are split up to waist at the sides. It has gold buttons. The design also features four of the 'twelve symbols': Sun, Moon, Stars and Mountain. There is a narrow band of gold thread round the cuffs. The coat is lined with lemon yellow silk |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by W. Llewellyn Jones |
| Object history | The Imperial Manufactory at Hangzhou was responsible for producing Imperial robes. The depiction of the five-clawed dragon resembles those depicted on the robes of the Emperor Jiaqing in Imperial portraits, and those on some other robes attributed to the Jiaqing reign, in the collection of the Palace Museum. |
| Production | Jiaqing or Daoguang Emperors' reign |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This surcoat is known as a bufu (literally, 'the robe with a badge'), worn over ceremonial or formal robes during ritual and court ceremonies during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). This particular example would have been worn by a prince, and ought to be distinguished from the Emperor's surcoat (the gunfu) or those worn by the Crown Prince (the long gua). According to the Huangchao Liqi Tushi ('Illustrations of Imperial Ritual Paraphernalia'), the front roundel on an Emperor's gunfu must have the "five-coloured clouds", a shou (longevity) character above the front-facing five-clawed dragons, and symbols of the sun and the moon respectively in the roundels on each shoulder, to symbolise his authority in the cosmos to perform sacrifices. The roundels worn by the Crown Prince would not bear the shou character, nor the symbols of the sun and moon, but will have the clouds of five colours. These elements are absent from the roundels in this bufu, but the four roundels of front-facing dragons indicate that the robe would have been worn by one of the other imperial princes. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.754-1950 |
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| Record created | April 9, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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