A Tibetan 'Chuba' - Priests Silk Robe With Dragons On Yellow-Ground, Tibet/China, Yongzheng/Qianlong period

The yellow clour indicates that the material was originally made for the imperial court. The dragon robe was probably a gift from the court to Tibet, whereby subsequently, the robe was re-cut and turned into a 'chuba', a priests robe. The traces of the old collar band are still visible on the front of the robe and the hoof-shaped sleeves have been replaced by broad straight sleeves. This robe can be dated to the Qianlong period because of the elongated clouds, the fine drawing of the dragons and the large round waves at the bottom instead of the 'lishui' stripes seen later. L. 197 (Ärmel) - Traces of usage - Estimate 35 000 €

Note: Compare with a 'chuba' robe made from material from the Imperial court exhibited in 'Heavens Embroidered Cloths', Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong 1995, pp.220-221

Nagel Aunctions. Asian Arts. 10 November 2008. www.auction.de