Empress' long sleeveless coat of yellow satin brocaded in shades of blue, green, aubergine, red, pink, and gold. On each side of front opening two rampant dragons, one above the other, the upper one clutching the heavenly jewel; in back, one sitting and two rampant dragons; all five-clawed. In the field loose cloud forms. Border of curling, over-lapping waves. Front, bottom, and sides (open except for a short joinunder arms) trimed with band of black velvet studded with brass studs and bordered with narrow strips of green and gold and red and gold brocade. At bottom a network of green fringe cording in long gold tassels hangs over a wide band of red satin. Lined with rose satin, lightly interlined with cotton batten.

Manchu Woman's Semiformal Court Vest, Kangxi period, 1662-1722

Unknown artist, Chinaexpand_more

Silk brocadeexpand_more

The John R. Van Derlip Fundexpand_more  42.8.7

On View in Gallery 210expand_more

Full-length vests or sleeveless coats were popular outer garments among aristocratic Manchu women. They were worn over elegant court robes and typically decorated with auspicious imagery. This bright example is decorated with four lively ascending dragons who writhe among colorful clouds. The dragons each have five claws, indicating the owner’s husband may have held a high rank in court. Below the dragons are swirling, stylized waves.

file_downloadprintshare
arrow_back back
Details
Title
Manchu Woman's Semiformal Court Vest
Role
Artist
Dimension
L. 53 1/8 in.
Accession Number
42.8.7
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

800px

Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.

Empress' long sleeveless coat of yellow satin brocaded in shades of blue, green, aubergine, red, pink, and gold. On each side of front opening two rampant dragons, one above the other, the upper one clutching the heavenly jewel; in back, one sitting and two rampant dragons; all five-clawed. In the field loose cloud forms. Border of curling, over-lapping waves. Front, bottom, and sides (open except for a short joinunder arms) trimed with band of black velvet studded with brass studs and bordered with narrow strips of green and gold and red and gold brocade. At bottom a network of green fringe cording in long gold tassels hangs over a wide band of red satin. Lined with rose satin, lightly interlined with cotton batten.

Error loading high resolution image. Report this problem.