Today’s Object of the Day is on view in Rebeca Méndez Selects (October 5, 2018–June 16, 2019) This semi-formal court surcoat (ji fu gua吉服褂) would have been worn by the wife of an imperial prince, a high-ranking clan member, or a Manchu official. Surcoats often featured flowers or birds. Here, roundels feature five cranes flying...

The visual complexity of the “robe of descent” (jiang yi絳衣) worn by the highest-ranking Daoist priests demonstrates how priests used symbols and words to control their environment. The complex symbols were believed to transform the wearer into a ritual participant who communicated between human and spirit worlds. The priest faced the altar to conduct rites,...

Dragon robes (ji fu吉服, lit. auspicious dress) originated in the Liao dynasty (907-1125), and were regulated as court dress under the Ming (1368-1644). The Qing dynasty (1644-1911) continued this usage, and standardized the nine-dragon design (the ninth dragon was positioned beneath the robe’s overlap). The dragon robe was worn with an ensemble of hat, surcoat,...

Table frontals were used on numerous types of Chinese tables: altar tables, dining tables, and magistrate’s desks. They covered the fronts, sides and legs of tables, and often coordinated with a set of matching chair covers. Such furnishings made furniture more flexible: the decoration could be adjusted for the season, the type of festivity, and...

Chinese skirt styles are often called aprons and are typically comprised of two identical sections, each with a decorated panel, a side panel and a pleated or gored panel. They were worn overlapping, wrapped around the body and secured through fabric loops and knotted buttons. The sections were attached to a wide waistband, usually made...

The Qing imperial rulers (1644-1911) were of Manchu ethnicity, and ruled over a mostly Han population. For centuries, Manchu women were required to wear long one-piece robes and Han women two-piece outfits that included a jacket and skirt. Featuring elements of both traditions, this Manchu jacket demonstrates the increasing fusion of these fashions in the...

Dragon robes were worn as court dress during the Liao (901-1125), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties in China, with embroidered iconography used to symbolize the emperor’s dominion over land and sea. Common elements include waves, forming a wide band at the bottom of the robe, mountains in the central plane, and clouds, occupying the...