244 - Two framed 'kesi' rank badges

Two framed 'kesi' rank badges China, second half of the 19th century 30 x 32 cm/ 30 x 31 cm (70 x 55 cm R.) Slit-weave (Chinese: kesi), silk (gradations of blue, white, black-brown, orange-red), and metallic thread; plain weave. Details painted with pigments. Lining: blue silk. Mounted between two glass panels in historic Chinese wooden frames. A rank badge depicting a wild duck standing on a rock amid waves, surrounded by treasures in the clouds, set against a so-called “water chestnut lattice” in the style of the Xianfeng era (1851-1861). The bird symbolizes the fourth civil rank. The second badge featuring a flying silver pheasant amid dense clouds on delicate floral tendrils. The bird represents the fifth civil rank. This style of depiction dates back to changes associated with the so-called 100-Day Reform of 1898. Both rank insignia are undivided and thus intended for the back of the robe. In each case, the bird is looking up to the left toward the sun. From an old German private collection, collected since the 1970s - Signs of age and wear, slightly faded