32. ROBE IMPÉRIALE EN SOIE TISSÉE, CHAOGUA XVIIIe siècle AN IMPERIAL BROCADED YELLOW SILK SLEEVELESS SURCOAT, CHAOGUA 18th century Finely woven to the front with a pair of confronted ascending five-clawed gold dragons, their strong and lean bodies tightly curled, each holding tightly onto a flaming pearl in one paw, amidst multi-coloured ruyi-form clouds and auspicious symbols, all above the lishui stripes and the terrestrial diagram, with a center front opening held with four toggle and loop fastenings, angled shoulder seams and deeply cut armholes, the design repeated on the back with a single gold five-clawed dragon, with a strong sinuous body facing to the front, all on a vibrant yellow ground, the black silk border of later date, lined with a pale salmon pink silk. 95cm x 92cm (37 3/8in x 36 1/4in). 十八世紀 御製明黃緞織龍紋朝褂 Among the clothes worn at court, those made to be worn on formal occasions were the most important. Like the emperor and his male entourage, female members of the imperial family and the court had to wear a chaofu ensemble which included a petticoat, a full-length robe with long sleeves, front overlap and shoulder projections (chaopao), an over vest (chaogua), a cape-like collar (piling) as well as an appropriate hat and accessories. While there were different styles of sleeveless surcoat, only the empress dowager, the empress and the three highest ranking imperial consorts were allowed to wear a surcoat prominently featuring a pair of large profile five-clawed dragons amid clouds above waves on the front and back of the garment. Compare a similar sleeveless vest, dated to the Kangxi period, sold in Christie's New York, 24 March 2011, lot 1342, and another vest of similar style, also of Kangxi date, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, inv. no. 42.8.7. Compare also with two midnight-blue silk sleeveless vests published by John Vollmer, Decoding Dragons: Status Garments in Ch'ing Dynasty China, University of Oregon, 1983, pls.18 and 93. Three sleeveless vests made of brocaded silk were among the Yamanaka gallery stock, illustrated in Collection of Chinese and Other Far Eastern Art Assembled by Yamanaka & Company, Inc., New York, 1943, nos. 1514, 1515 and 1516, the last two with a similar single dragon on the back of the surcoat.