On November 18, 2008, visitors take a closer look at imperial robes that will be auctioned on December 6 in Beijing.
Precious imperial robes, believed to belong to emperors of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), will be available for public bidding next month.
Seven of such garments, which were too precious to be washed hundreds of years ago, were displayed on Tuesday in Beijing to give the public an idea of what will be auctioned on December 6.
A robe which experts say had been worn by Emperor Shunzhi (1638-1661), is estimated to be worth 15 million yuan (US$2.2 million).
Based on the different patterns on the garments, experts say the total of 18 robes that will go under hammer belonged to six Qing dynasty emperors.
"It's extremely rare for so many imperial robes to be auctioned at a time," says renowned brocade expert Zong Fengying, who works for the Palace Museum inside the Forbidden City.
Zong says during the Qing dynasty, an emperor's robe would usually be preserved instead of being washed if it got dirty.
Today, well-preserved imperial robes are rarely found in Chinese museums except the Palace Museum, according to Zong, though some are privately collected by individuals in Hong Kong and London.
Zhou Shuangcheng, a representative for December's auction, said all the imperial robes to be auctioned are from an anonymous private collector, who now lives overseas.
Although some visitors at the preview were skeptical of the robes' authenticity, Zhou said the garments had all passed appraisals conducted by a panel of experts.
