Imperial Guard Costume | LAST EMPEROR, THE (1987)

Sold Stock #28539 | Sold Aug 20 2018

LAST EMPEROR, THE (1987)

Imperial Guard Costume

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Our expert's notes

An Imperial Guard uniform from the 1987 multi-Oscar winning historical drama The Last Emperor. This elaborate outfit first appeared when a young Pu Yi (Richard Vuu), aged a mere three years old, is taken at night from his mother with only his wet nurse for comfort, and escorted to the secretive Forbidden City to become Emperor, and later at his coronation.
The ensemble has multiple layers and would have been a challenge to wear atop a horse during the lengthy hours on set. The imposing uniform consists of a pair of navy rayon trousers, undertunic and skirt, topped with a jacket and three-piece skirt decorated with an Indian print gold metallic mesh trimmed in black satin and adorned with brass pauldrons and metal roundels. In addition to the already comprehensive costume is the traditional metal helmet trimmed with stamp pressed brass reliefs, topped by a rabbit fur and horse hair plume worn over a protective balaclava hood. Completing the costume is a leather belt sash with hard rubber sword and tsuba.

This is a unique opportunity to acquire an instantly recognisable costume from the first scenes of the young Emperor's life, and although has some slight distress due to use on set and age it is still in very good condition.

This comes from the private collection of renowned producer Jeremy Thomas (who single handedly raised the $25million budget for the movie) and was archived after filming completed until only recently, when the Prop Store was proud to assist in sorting and cataloguing the incredible inventory under the guidance and in collaboration with Oscar-winning Costume Designer, Jim Acheson.

This item comes with a Propstore Certificate of Authenticity

This item is located in London.

This item is located in Los Angeles.