A couched silk Daoist priest's robe (jiangyi), Qing Dynasty, late 19th century. Photo Sotheby's

worked in gold-wrapped threads with some knotted stitches to form a depiction of the cosmos, with a three-storied tower enclosed within a flaming nimbus, flanked by lions, with symbols for the sun, moon and stars above, all surrounded by five writhing dragons amid clouds, the sleeves decorated with auspicious emblems, the hem with the terrestrial diagram representing earth flanked by the bagua (Eight Trigrams), all within black brocade borders, framed. Length 53 1/4 in., 135.2 cm; Width 68 1/2 in., 174 cm. Estimation 5,000 — 7,000 USD

Sotheby's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART. 18 MARS 2014 - 19 MARS 2014. NEW YORK - www.sothebys.com