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Pair of 19th Century Civil Rank Badges with Egrets (Sixth Rank)

About the Item

Vividly colored pair of 19th century civil rank badges (buzi) decorated with an egret, denoting a civil servant of the Sixth Rank. The badges are worked in flat stitch embroidery on a dark blue silk background, with the bird tinged slightly pink, and the border a bright gold color. The bird is perched on a rock surrounded by green waves and blue clouds. Attached to the front and back of a ceremonial robe, rank badges were woven in pairs with identical imagery. One was divided vertically up the center to attach to the front of a robe with a center opening. A badge featuring a bird identified the wearer as a civil official, possibly because of birds' literary associations. Each rank was represented by a different species, and while there were slight variations over time, by the Qing Dynasty the order from highest to lowest was: (1) crane, (2) golden pheasant, (3) peacock, (4) wild goose, (5) silver pheasant, (6) egret, (7) mandarin duck, (8) quail and (9) paradise flycatcher. Wives were also entitled to wear badges of their husbands’ rank on black surcoats for official occasions. Women's badges can be distinguished from the men's by the placement of the red sun disk, which represented the Emperor. The man’s sun disk was always placed in the upper left hand corner of the badge, while his wife's was made in mirror vision of her husband's and the sun disk on her badge was in the upper right hand corner. This way her bird would be facing her husband’s. Since the bird is facing left on both badges, this pair belonged to the official himself.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 10.88 in (27.64 cm)Width: 11.75 in (29.85 cm)Depth: 0.05 in (1.27 mm)
  • Sold As:
    Set of 2
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Silk,Embroidered
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    19th Century
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. There is a little bit of fraying at the tips of the bird's wings.
  • Seller Location:
    Atlanta, GA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU7220239168942

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