得於紐約，1982年

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我們很高興為您提供上述拍品狀況報告。由於敝公司非專業修復人員，在此敦促您徵詢其他專業修復人員，以獲得更詳盡、專業之報告。

準買家應該檢查每件拍品以確認其狀況，蘇富比所作的任何陳述均為主觀看法而非事實陳述。雖然本狀況報告或有針對某拍品之討論，但所有拍賣品均根據印於圖錄內之業務規則以拍賣時狀況出售。

Beginning in the Yuan dynasty and continuing throughout the Ming dynasty, the emperors awarded special presentation mang robes to select courtiers because of their particularly high rank, or as rewards for exceptional services rendered to the emperor, or as gifts to foreign dignitaries. Such robes were visible emblems of imperial favor; they were highly coveted. For the Yuan prototypes see Zhao Fang, Treasures in Silk, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 09.02.; for a Ming dynasty example, see a portrait of an official Wang Ao (1451- 1524), ibid, pl. 09.05.

During the reign of the Yongle emperor (1403-1425) eunuchs who served as the emperor’s principal attendants were required to wear mang robes. In the mid-15th century it was customary for the chief eunuch to wear a tso-mang or frontal dragon in contrast to the more typical dragons in profile. A particularly coveted type of mang design included the standard dragon yoke collar, but also a narrow band across the knee area with four smaller dragons. In the 16th century officials began placing private orders for mang robes without being formally awarded them by the emperor in direct contravention of a 1459 law; finally, the Jiajing emperor issued an edict in 1537 prescribing harsh penalties for those violating that law. For further discussion of the history and use of mang robes see Schuyler Cammann, China's Dragon Robes, 1952, Chicago, pp. 10-19.

While a considerable number of imperial five-clawed Ming dragon robes and yardage for such robes survives, there are very few examples of surviving Ming dynasty mang presentation robes or yardage. Moreover, the few surviving examples of robes or yardage in Chinese museums that are archeologically excavated pieces tend to be strongly faded and heavily damaged — unlike the present yardage with its vibrant red color and outstanding condition. Because mang robes carried such great prestige, it is likely that most were buried with their owners and have not survived. For an archaeological example from the Zhengde period see Textiles and Embroidery: Series of Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics, Beijing, 1999, pls 35 and 36. A Wanli attribution for the present yardage is supported by comparison with the extensive corpus of robes and yardage found in the Dingling Mausoleum from the tomb of the Wanli emperor, see Catalogue of Relics from the Dingling Mausoleum, vols 1 and 2, Beijing, 2006.

The general format of the mang yardage and robes, with a large quatrefoil collar area comprising two large dragons and a narrow band of dragons near the hem, was retained in the early Qing dynasty for the formal robe of state (chaofu), but the tradition of imperial mang presentation robes had come to an end. For examples of early Qing dynasty mang yardage for a chaofu see one in the Philadelphia Art Museum  illustrated by Schulyer Cammann (op. cit. pl. 4) and yardage including the band in the Musée Guimet, Paris illustrated in Silk for Thrones and Altars, Paris, 2003. fig. 8.  A close stylistic comparison between  late Ming and early Qing dynasty mang panels is instructive and illuminates the compo꧅sitional clarity and robust design elements that epitoജmize the compelling aesthetic of the late Ming dynasty.