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Pair of Qing Dynasty Civil Rank Badges with Egrets

$1,850per set
£1,421.29per set
€1,633.04per set
CA$2,602.25per set
A$2,923.52per set
CHF 1,527.54per set
MX$35,682.88per set
NOK 19,395.32per set
SEK 18,256.60per set
DKK 12,186.37per set

About the Item

Lovely 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 Peking knot and couched gold threads on a dark blue background, with colors of soft green, blues and golds. Couched gold thread also delineates the feathers on the bird's wings and the petals on the flowers. The bird is perched on a rock among waves, with bats, peonies, and auspicious symbols surrounding it. 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: crane, golden pheasant, peacock, wild goose, silver pheasant, egret, mandarin duck, quail and paradise flycatcher. Civil officials sat on the emperor’s left at court functions, so their rank birds faced right towards him. 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 both birds are facing the same way, this pair is probably a combination of the wife's front badge and the husband's back badge.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 11.75 in (29.85 cm)Width: 12.5 in (31.75 cm)Depth: 0.02 in (0.51 mm)
  • Sold As:
    Set of 2
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Silk,Embroidered
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    Early 19th Century
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. The pair is in excellent condition for their age, with only a few loose threads around the border.
  • Seller Location:
    Atlanta, GA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU7220243144772

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