A RARE ‘FLYING TIGER’ BANNER, EMBROIDERED SILK, 18TH CENTURY

China. Finely worked in satin stitch on a pale green silk ground, depicting a playful, muscular tiger standing on his hind legs with forelegs raised triumphantly and large red-spotted wings, all set amid boldly rendered, vaporous lingzhi-shaped clouds in cream, pale orange, green, and blue hues.

Provenance: A private estate in the southern United States. A private collection in New York, United States, acquired from the above via the local trade, and thence by descent.
Condition: Good condition overall, with age-appropriate wear. Minor fading, light soiling, and a few stains not affecting the central image. Some losses, small tears, and loose threads throughout.

Dimensions: Image size 89.5 x 85 cm, Size incl. frame 95 x 91 cm

Set within a gold-lacquered wood frame behind glass. (2)

Tigers with bat-like wings were associated with military personnel since the mid-Ming dynasty, embellishing uniforms, robes and equipment. Flying tigers emblazoned military banners during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The beast was thought to have supernatural power, which is symbolized by wings and shooting flames. The Huangchao liqi tushi (Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial Court), which was enforced in 1766, shows several similar flying tiger flags.

Painted depictions of flying tiger banners appear in imperial military processions, notably in the Southern Inspection Tour scrolls by Wang Hui (1632–1717), which record the Kangxi Emperor’s 1698 journey from Beijing to Nanjing. Square in shape and rendered in colors corresponding to the Eight Banners (gusa) of the Qing army, these banners can be seen flying from the sterns of vessels escorting the Emperor across the Yangtze River. They appear to mark the boats carrying banner generals. See Evelyn Rawski and Jessica Rawson (eds.), China: The Three Emperors 1662–1795, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2005, no. 13, pp. 86–89 and 388–389.

Throughout Asia, the tiger is a potent symbol associated with strength and military prowess. In China, the tiger was known as king of the land animals, a complement to the dragon, the chief of aquatic animals. On the animal's forehead the stripes suggest the character, wang, for king. The tiger was associated with yang, the active, life-giving, masculine principle and was the animal guardian of the West. It was claimed that during the Zhou dynasty (ca. 1050 - 256 B.C.) living soldiers, dressed in tiger skins, advanced into battle shouting loudly in the hope that their cries would strike much terror in the hearts of their enemies as if they were being confronted with the roars of actual tigers.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related silk theatric banner with a flying tiger, dated to the 18^th century, 116.8 x 116.8 cm, in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, object number 81.36. Compare a closely related ‘flying tiger’ military banner, dated to the Qing dynasty, “likely 1775-1825”, 111.8 x 120.7 cm, in the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, object number A.1995.93.395.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Doyle New York, 19 March 2024, lot 109
Price: USD 51,200 or approx. EUR 45,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An exceptionally rare Chinese embroidered silk “flying tiger” banner, Kangxi period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related embroidery, subject, motifs, and ground. Note the size (134 x 130.1 cm) and that this banner is double-sided.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 24 September 2021, lot 1012
Price: USD 81,250 or approx. EUR 82,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An extremely rare double-sided embroidered green silk ‘flying tiger’ banner, Kangxi period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related embroidery, subject, and motifs. Note the size (33.4 x 125.7 cm) and that this banner is double-sided.