AN EXTREMELY RARE SILK KESI 'QILIN' RANK BADGE 1850s-1860sPROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DAVID AND NANCY HUGUSAN EXTREMELY RARE SILK KESI 'QILIN' RANK BADGE1850s-1860sCircular with a black ground, centered by a qilin striking a lively pose atop a two-tiered rock emerging from a roiling sea, the beast's scales in shades of blue and edged in gold-wrapped threads, tufts of green fur at the mane and tail, crimson flame scrolls rising from the body, a gold shou roundel floating above, all surrounded by green-and-blue ruyi-form clouds interspersed with pink bats and a selection of bajixiang. 11in (27.9cm) diam.一八五零年-一八六零年 緙絲麒麟紋一品武官補子Provenance:Jon Eric Riis, Atlanta, circa late 1980s-early 1990sPublished:Hugus, David, Chinese Rank Badges: Symbols of Power, Wealth, and Intellect in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, Hong Kong University Press, 2002, fig. 13.4.In the Qing court, there were eighteen levels of imperial princes. The first eight levels bore the title 'Prince of Blood' and donned 'dragon' rank badges. Princes of levels nine through twelve were identified as 'Nobles of the Imperial Lineage', and within that group, princes in levels nine through eleven were each further divided into three sublevels. The twelfth level had no such divisions. Princes of the Imperial Lineage were rarely selected for positions at court, and therefore very few badges for them were made, nor survive. Those who did serve received a circular rank badge featuring one the top four military animals—qilin (ninth rank), lion (tenth rank), leopard (eleventh rank), and tiger (twelfth rank)—and a shou character. Thus, the present badge can be identified as belonging to a Prince of the Imperial Lineage of the ninth rank. Although the original wearer's sublevel is not visually evidenced here, it can be presumed that they were at the uppermost tier of the ninth level since they were offered a position at court.Dr. David Hugus is a renowned collector of Chinese rank badges, and an international authority on the subject. Prior to embarking on this pursuit, Dr. Hugus served with honor in the United States military. During his numerous tours in Asia and elsewhere, he earned a Masters in Science and a doctorate degree in Operations Research Systems Analyst (ORSA) from the Naval Postgraduate School, as well as a Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, and other distinctions. Upon reading an article by Schuyler Cammann of the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, Dr. Hugus discovered Chinese rank badges and took it upon himself to expand the canon of English-language scholarship on this topic. Since then, he has published Ladder to the Clouds: Intrigue and Tradition in Chinese Rank (2000, co-authored with Beverley Jackson) and Chinese Rank Badges: Symbols of Power, Wealth, and Intellect in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2022). Over the course of his scholarship, Dr. Hugus and his wife, Nancy, have develop a distinguished collection of Chinese rank badges, textiles, and other works of art.