Artwork Page for Woman's Bridal Dress, Dragon Jacket

Details / Information for Woman's Bridal Dress, Dragon Jacket

Woman's Bridal Dress, Dragon Jacket

1800s

China, Qing dynasty

(1644-1911)
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Medium
Silk, gilt-metal thread; embroidery
Measurements
Overall: 104.2 x 153 cm (41 x 60 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Elizabeth Wade Sedgwick 2005.135.1
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

This three-piece bridal dress includes a dragon jacket, a pleated skirt, and a tabard, a short loose-fitting sleeveless vest. The ensemble reveals the high rank of her husband; it did not fall under the scope of the Qing dynasty sumptuary laws.

The woman's bridal trousseau contains a short red coat fastened on the side and wide sleeves. It is decorated with ten dragons and other cosmological motifs commonly found on court dress. The presence of ten dragons indicates that the wife's husband was a high-ranking official.
A silk and metal thread embroidered robe features a bright red body and wide sleeves. A large gold dragon coiling around a white sphere dominates the chest, with smaller dragons appearing on the sleeves and lower front. Multicolored clouds and flowers are scattered across the red fabric. At the bottom, stylized blue waves and multicolored mountain peaks sit atop a hem of slanted stripes in blue, pink, and yellow.

Woman's Bridal Dress, Dragon Jacket

1800s

China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

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