Pair Chinese Embroidered Fourth Rank Badges Qing Dynasty

A fine matching pair of embroidered silk civil rank badge panels (known in Chinese as Buzi) unframed. The panels feature borders of fret archaic key and are centered by the insignia bird goose, the symbol of the fourth rank civil official in the court of Qing Dynasty. The goose was depicted perching on one leg on the li-shui rocks, surrounded by large silver scrolling clouds, flying bats (symbol of good fortune), Peonies (symbol of beauty), branches bearing peach fruits and Lingzhi mushrooms (symbol of longevity). The goose looks up to a full sun on the upper right corner. As a set, one has a slit in the middle and was originally placed in the front of the robe. The other one was designated to the back. Based on the sun's position, these were worn by the wives of male official. The work is of period (likely mid-19th century) and fine quality. The fret border was embroidered with chain couching stitches while the main picture was created using long and short satin stitches. The color palette was slightly demure showing a mellow shimmering effect. Both panels were backed by a light blue silk and the split panel consists of two halves as shown.