China, 17th century. Made for the Japanese market. Finely woven with the mon of the Toyotomi clan, in the form of a stylized paulownia, above an imposing three-clawed dragon surrounded by ruyi-shaped clouds.Provenance: Austrian private collection. Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear, soiling, minuscule losses, minor old repairs, few loose threads.Dimensions: Size 153 x 85 cmBehind glass, in a European frame.The Kirimon, or Paulownia Seal, once was the private symbol of the Japanese Imperial Family, from as early as the sixteenth century. The Toyotomi clan, led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, later adopted the Seal for use as the crest of his clan. After the Meiji Restoration, the seal was eventually adopted as the emblem of the Japanese government. The variation seen in the present lot, with 5-7-5 flowers (the syllabic pattern of a haiku poem), is today reserved for the prime minister of Japan.The present kesi panel likely was originally a border panel from a very large bedcover. Kesi produced an inherently weak fabric because the weaving technique left slits in the textile between color areas and did not stand up to wear. It was therefore rarely used for practical items like bedcovers, except for a group of early 17th century bedcovers surviving in museum collections, all with light blue backgrounds.Literature comparison: A complete coverlet, in a private collection, is illustrated in Vollmer 1982, p. 42, and another is in the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, Claremont, California, unpublished. For two similar kesi panels made for the European market, see Myrna Myers, Silks for Thrones and Altars, Chinese Costumes and Textiles, p. 104, nos. 54a and 54b.Auction result comparison: Compare with a kesi fragment of much smaller size, with a very similar dragon and likely cut out from a large panel closely related to the present lot, at Christie's London in Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art on 7 November 2017, lot 344, sold for GBP 11,875.明代大型龍紋緙絲 中國,十七世紀。為日本市場生產,豐臣家族的家徽“桐紋”,在由如意形雲團環繞的氣勢磅礴的三爪龍。 來源:奧地利私人收藏 品相:狀況極佳,輕微磨損,污跡,損失極小,較舊的修補,絲綫鬆動。 尺寸:153 x 85 厘米 歐洲裝框,玻璃蓋后 拍賣結果比較:一件相似尺寸較小的龍紋緙絲,有著非常相似的龍,可能與當前拍品相似的大緙絲上剪下,售于倫敦佳士得Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 拍場,2017年11月7日,lot 344,售價GBP 11,875.