A PAIR OF RANK BADGES (BUZI) WITH GOLD PHEASANT China, Qing dynasty, before 1850 30,5 x 29,5 cm Navy blue satin silk embroidered with colored untwisted silk and gold threads. Lining: blue silk. The bird with long legs is standing on a craggy rock in waves and looks up to the red sun on the left. He is the symbol of the high second civil rank. Surrounding him are spherical, ruyi-shaped clouds with fluttering red bats. Daffodils, linzhi mushrooms and bamboo are growing on the side rocks. Floating in the staggered waves are treasures such as a helbard with a chime stone, a ruyi symbol, a scroll, and sheng ornaments. A meandering band fills the frame. The buzi can be dated fairly confidently to the early 19th century based on the shape of the clouds and the lack of diagonal stripes of deep water in the lower part. The use of colored silk makes this rank insignia shine. The variation and fine gradation of blue tones in the clouds and waves is particularly subtle. From an old South German private collection, assembled between 1970 and 2002 Cf.: Jackson/Hugus: Ladder to the Clouds, 1999: Rank badge with Gold Pheasant, p. 148; Rank badge with mandarin duck, p. 162. Very good condition with very well preserved colors, only a few loose gold threads in the frame