A rare yellow embroidered twelve-symbol semi-formal 'dragon' robe, Qing dynasty, 19th century. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

couched in gold-wrapped threads with nine five-clawed dragons, one on the inner flap, surrounded by swirling clouds, interspersed with bats carrying auspicious objects, with stylized shou characters and the 'Twelve Symbols of Imperial Authority', the sun, moon, mountains and constellation around the neck, the fu symbol, ax, small dragon and pheasant around the chest and back, and the sacrificial vessels, water weeds, flames and grains just below the waist, all enclosed by lishui, cloud and wave borders with auspicious objects and terrestrial diagrams at the hem and sleeves, the collar band and cuffs decorated with dragons, bats and clouds, probably made into a robe at a later date from earlier unsewn yardage - Length 59 1/2  in., 151 cm; Width 77 1/2  in., 197 cm

Provenance: Private Massachusetts Collection.
Sotheby's New York, 23rd September 1997, lot 89.
Collection of William and Bernadette Berger.
Christie's New York, 18th October 2001, lot 427.

Notes: The present example of a robe decorated with the Twelve Symbols of Imperial Authority is particularly impressive for its intricate and meticulous embroidery, even on the inner flap which would not be seen publicly. This attention to detail, the wispy clouds and lack of large baskets of flowers below the central dragon, point to the embroidery being executed during the first half of the 19th century.

According to the Shujing (Book of Documents) it was the legendary Emperor Shun who stipulated that the Twelve Symbols should appear on court robes, and the Qianlong Emperor revived the tradition in 1759 as part of a comprehensive set of costume edicts promulgated in the Huangchao liqi tushi (Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial Court).

Although reserved for the exclusive use of the emperor, the Huangchao liqi tushi also records that the emperor had the authority to confer the right to use these Twelve Symbols to a family member as a mark of favor. See for example, an unsewn Twelve Symbol empress's robe sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2002, lot 312. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 15 sept. 2015