AN EMBROIDERED 'MIDNIGHT BLUE' SILK FORMAL COURT ROBE, 'CHAOFU' China, 19th ct. L. 109,5 cm With gold thread and multi coloured satin stitch on the upper half with four five-clawed dragons amidst clouds and Buddhist emblems, above the terrestrial diagram at the waist, with an attached pleated and flared apron, corresponding to the specifications cited in 'huangchao liqi tushi' (Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial Court) for a first-rank or second-rank prince - The 'chaofu' was the most formal of Manchu court garments and was worn at the most important court functions, including the annual sacrifices performed by the emperor himself. This type of formal court robe would have been appropriate for second and third degree princes. A similar gauze example was included in the exhibition 'The Manchu Dragon, Costumes of the Ch'ing Dynasty, 1644-1912, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, December 16, 1980-August 30, 1981, illustrated by Jean Mailey in the catalogue, p. 19. Another example, lacking the roundels on the skirt, is illustrated by John E. Vollmer, 'In the Presence of the Dragon Throne', Royal Ontario Museum, 1977, p. 39 German private collection, assembled in the 1970s and 80s Some traces of use, a few seams loosened at the sleeves