Lot 327. A suit of ceremonial armour Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Length 37 cm, 14½ in. Lot sold: 113,400 GBP (Estimate: 100,000 - 150,000 GBP). (C) 2021 Sotheby's

comprising a brass-studded navy jacket and apron with associated detachable panels and gilt metal mounts, the armour made of cotton-padded satin lined with blue silk, embroidered with dragon roundels in gold thread.

Provenance: Acquired in 1997.

Note: Ceremonial suits of armour such as the present piece were an essential part of the imperial wardrobe during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Throughout the year, a wide range of ceremonies were held in the Imperial Palace and hundreds of people were called to assemble in the great courtyards to take part in official rituals. According to Valery M. Garrett, Chinese Clothing: An Illustrated Guide, Oxford, 1994, p. 122, armour of this type was made in the imperial workshops in Hangzhou, the centre of silk manufacturing, at that time. 

Participants of different ranks were distinguished by the design of their armour. The present set, made of satin padded with cotton, lined with blue silk and embroidered with four-clawed dragons in roundels, suggests that it might have been worn by a member of the imperial nobility or a high-ranking official. A related 18^th-century ceremonial armour made for a high-ranking military official, embroidered with four-clawed dragons and additional cloud scrolls and crashing waves between the roundels, is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no. 36.25.5).

Compare also some colourful but less sumptuously decorated ceremonial suits of armour, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession nos gu-171198, gu-171988, gu-171989, gu-171990, gu-171991, gu-171992, gu-171994 and gu-171999), illustrated in China: The Three Emperors. 1662-1795, Royal Academy of Art, London, 2005, pp. 156-7, fig. 51, where it is suggested that they belonged to members of the Eight Banners who guarded the imperial city.

Sotheby's. Two Americans in Paris, The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, London, 4 November 2021