AN APRICOT-GROUND EMBROIDERED SILK 'DRAGON AND PHOENIX' PANEL 19th centuryPROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF DAVID AND NANCY HUGUSAN APRICOT-GROUND EMBROIDERED SILK 'DRAGON AND PHOENIX' PANEL19th centuryThe long rectangular panel centered by a frontal four-clawed dragon stitched in couched gold-wrapped threads, its large head framed by a blue-and-green mane, a pendant suspended from the fangs reading Long zhang feng gao, the right forepaw grasping a flaming pearl, flanked on each side by a large phoenix flying towards it and bearing a bundle of scrolls, the birds' executed in gold-wrapped and polychrome threads, all against an apricot-toned satin ground, bordered on all sides by a brocade of peonies and 'Auspicious Emblems', a band of white silk at the top for suspension, lined with peach-colored cotton.21 5/8 x 107 3/8in (55.1 x 272.7cm) image十九世紀 杏黃地刺繡龍鳳掛屏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.