A PORTRAIT OF A COURT LADY, IMPERIAL SCHOOL, 18TH TO 19TH CENTURYPublished: Gary Dickinson & Linda Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, London, 1990, page 187.China. Ink, gilt, and watercolors on paper, with a silk brocade frame and laid down on cardboard. Depicting a lady dressed in a red silk dragon jacket (mang ao), her hair tied behind a blue and red phoenix crown (feng guan) embellished with the four characters ‘feng tian gao ming’ (‘I have received an official appointment from Heaven’) and strings of pearls with blue and red beads.Provenance: From the private collection of Linda Wrigglesworth, London, United Kingdom. Finding her passion for Chinese textiles in 1976, when encountering her first dragon robe, Linda Wrigglesworth opened her gallery in 1978, and over the following decades became one of the world’s leading experts in antique Chinese costumes and textiles, helping to buy and sell pieces to private collections and public institutions worldwide. She has written countless articles and curated countless exhibitions. In 2008 she retired from her business and sold her private collection of Imperial textiles at Christie’s New York.Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, little soiling, and few minuscule tears. The colors still very crisp.Dimensions: Image size 24.6 x 20.3 cm, Size incl. backing 32.5 x 25 cmFeng guan (phoenix crown) is a type of traditional headgear for women in Hanfu. It was worn mainly by noblewomen at ceremonies or official occasions. The feng guan is also used as a traditional headgear for brides and could be worn as a set with traditional Chinese wedding dresses, such as the fengguan xiapei. According to De Groot in his book, The Religious System of China, the feng guan, was also known at the Imperial court as Feng tian gao ming, which can be translated as 'I have received an official appointment from Heaven'.The Mang ao (dragon jacket) is a side fastening jacket decorated with dragons worn by the wives of Chinese officials.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Sotheby’s London, 5 November 2014, lot 293Estimate: GBP 8,000 or approx.EUR 12,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A portrait of a lady, Qing dynasty, late 18th centuryExpert remark:pare the motif. Note the full body depiction and very large size (221 x 108).十八至十九世紀貴婦肖像圖中國，紙本水墨設色描金，鏡片。工筆描繪一位身著紅綢龍襖的貴婦，束發頭，頭戴青紅鳳冠，上面點綴著“奉天誥命”四字 和帶有藍色和紅色珠子的珍珠串。出版：Gary Dickinson & Linda Wrigglesworth，Imperial Wardrobe，倫敦，1990年，187頁。