Chinese Qing Dynasty Court Robe. Letter of provenance reads "I purchased two of these Mandarin coats in 1922 in Peking China. The young Emperor had just been deposed and a republic set up. The deposed Emperor was in need of friends and was therefore selling many things from the Imperial Palace through one officially appointed dealer only. A friend of mine at the Grand Hotel Peking arranged to leave his personal servant, or 'boy' as they are called, take me to this particular dealer. His servant had contacts with this dealer so I was permitted to purchase goods from the Palace. I was told at the time that these Mandarin Coats were over 100 years old and given a paper so stating which unfortunately has been lost. Both appear to be in perfect condition. I would like to know their value. The threads making up the dragons were purported to be of gold." Metallic Threads test as 10 percent gold and 30 percent silver. Please note that copy of letter is included with this lot, the original to be sold with robe in previous lot. Approximately 85.0W x 56.0H in.