A ladies' informal red-ground kesi silk robe, changfu, Late Qing dynasty. Estimate US$ 35,000 - 50,000 (€31,000 - 44,000). Photo: Bonhams.

he bright red robe woven with three roundels on the front, three on the back and one on each sleeve, each roundel formed of twisting leafy vines issuing geometrically-patterned double gourds and encircling a pair of butterflies with gold antennae and four further butterflies, the collar and wide cuffs similarly formed of kesi black silk with butterflies and gourds, the hem with dragons rising towards stylized mountains amid rolling waves issuing Buddhist Symbols. 56 3/4in (144.4cm) long

Notes: The kesi technique is a particularly intricate way of introducing pattern within the weave of the fabric: the various colors are woven on separate bobbins creating the 'cut' effect at the boundaries between the colors, hence the namekesi or 'cut silk'. The technique is extremely time-consuming and skilled, achieving a reverse that is often as well-presented as the front of the fabric.

Butterflies are symbolic of marital union, and vines and gourds suggestive of health and fertility. Together with the celebratory red ground, the robe may have been intended for a joyous wedding feast. 

Two related red-ground kesi informal ladies' robes dated to the late 19th century, but each with cranes within the roundels, are illustrated by R. D. Jacobsen, Imperial Silks: Ch'ing Dynasty Textiles in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Vol. I, Minneapolis, 2000, pp. 256-6 and 264-5, nos. 98 and 102. Another robe dated to the 19th century is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, no.1978.159, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. George Fenmore in 1978.

BONHAMS. CHINESE PAINTINGS AND WORKS OF ART, 14 Sep 2015 10:00 EDT - NEW YORK