A Chinese shaded gold-thread court dragon robe, jifu, Qing Dynasty, 19th century, circa 1850, worn by a mandarin of the court who by repute became a merchant for trade in Indonesia, nine, five-clawed dragons adorn the robe chasing the pearl of wisdom amongst clouds and auspicious symbols of good fortune,189cm x 135cm These robes were worn at official ceremonies in various palace temples including the temple of heaven. Provenance: By repute given by a merchant as a gift to Johan Hagemeijer in 1914, staying in the same family by descent. Johan was a charitable man, and a Chinese merchant gave the robe to him as a thank you before he and his family returned to the Netherlands. The Dutch family owned a trading company which began with offices in Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies, then expanded into Jakarta, Semarang, Kuala Lumpa, Singapore and Penang. The company, Hagemeyer N.V, was extremely successful due to the favourable, and fair trade, they showed their Chinese customers, importing watches, cheese and tea sets from the West to the East. 清19世纪 蓝绸捻金绣十二章龙袍 拍品来源：Johan Hagemeijer家族，其在上世纪二十年代与中国及南洋进行慈善运动及贸易