Lot 500. A brown-ground 'nine dragons' silk robe, Late Qing Dynasty. Estimate £1,500 - 2,000 (€1,900 - 2,500). Photo Bonhams.

Worked in couched gold threads and counted stitch with nine five-clawed dragons chasing flaming pearls amid satin stitch designs of vaporous ruyi clouds interspersed with bats, cranes and a central basket of peaches, rendered in knotted stitch, above a hem of cresting waves and lishui stripe. 149cm (58 5/8in) long

Provenance: A Scottish private collection 

Bonhams. AUCTION 23541: ASIAN ART, 10:30 BST - LONDON, KNIGHTSBRIDGE