Monday, November 20, 2006

Robes of silk and gold, part III

I'm putting up pictures of an incredible formal court costume, or chao-fu, that we also passed on to a gentleman in Taiwan. The pictures speak for themselves on the beauty of the formal elegance and power invested in these robes of state.

In addition, here is a whimsical example to contrast with the formal elegance of state robes. My mom collected a hundred butterfly robe in glorious purple. Worn by a young lady from a banker's family in Shanxi province, Imperial Qing China, in the late 19th century. As we speak, this is up on eBay and I hope the robe finds a good home.

I am putting up pictures of my prototype that came back! This is a phoenix gazing at a peony, symbols of feminine power, grace and wealth. I took inspiration from a Ming Dynasty kesi wall hanging that was the crown jewel of the Imperial Textile exhibition at the Singapore Asian Civilisation Museum earlier this year, as part of the HK based Englishman Chris Hall's collection. This is only a tiny part of the kesi hanging. There's more material that I'll be using in my later creations :) I have sent the prototype to a local leather craftsman to be turned into a clutchbag, God willing, it will be stunning. I will have them back in January next year! Cheers!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Robes of silk and gold, part II

Hi, I managed to pass on 2 other incredible robes in our family collection to buyers in Taiwan and China who I hope will also cherish them as much as we did. These robes are rather rare. One is a brown base dragon robe made for the wife of the grandson of the royal family, here is a view of the frontal dragon.


The other is a blue gauze dragon robe made for a young man of the nobility, not necessarily from the imperial family. Here is a view of the dragons around the collar.

I came across 2 Peranakan wedding robes that are so beautiful, but alas a bit out of my reach for now. However, they are good sources of inspiration for my design work. Here they are, in glorious red and turquoise.


My prototypes came back from India, finally! There were some serious problems with the first few, and I had to insist a higher QC. But the most recent piece came back ok. I am going to a local leather shop that makes good purses and do up a prototype purse. We shall see how that goes. Meanwhile, I am approaching friends and accquaintances who have auction books and other research sources with Peranakan beadwork that could give me guidance on how to move forward with accessory designs. One step at a time. I have so far chosen to use chili padi red for my leather work. :) God willing, it can be a good color.