Skirt panel
Object name
Date made
Late 19th century
Place made
Description
Fragment of a Qing dynasty mangchu, a Chinese skirt decorated with dragons and phoenixes. Features a dragon, bats, butterflies, and phoenix.
Content description
Fragment of a Qing dynasty mangchu, a Chinese skirt featuring dragons and phoenixes. The fragment dates to the late 19th century and is made of blue silk with polychrome silk threads and couched gold passing threads. The panel has been crudely cut in order to show off the embroidery; the rest of the embroidered skirt panels and the unembroidered parts of the skirt have been cut away.
The fragment consists of two panels, one rectangular and one triangular. These panels would have originally been part of a mangchu, translating into English as 'dragon skirt', typically paired with a mangao jacket. Mangchu skirts are often red or green, making this blue example more unusual. During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the mangchu was worn by Han Chinese women, typically the wives of Chinese noblemen or high-ranking officials as part of their quasi-official formal clothing on ceremonial occasions. These skirts were also part of wedding and burial outfits.
The rectangular panel depicts a five-clawed couched metal thread dragon with a pearl of wisdom, surrounded by satin stitched traditional Chinese motifs in multi-coloured silks. Surrounding the dragon are red bats (hongfu) and clouds (xiangyun), both of which are lucky symbols. The Chinese word for bat fu is a homonym for the word for ‘blessings’, while red is the colour of happiness, so red bats mean double happiness. Similarly, ‘clouds’ and ‘fortune’ in Chinese are both pronounced yun, so clouds are also lucky, and bats and clouds together stand for May you have good fortune!'
Below is a stretch of striped ‘deep sea waves’ (lishui) and concentric semicircle ‘surface water’ waves (woshui). A geometric mountain (kunlun shan) above the sea represents the four cosmic points of the universe. To the left of this, a bolt of silk or scroll is one of Chinese mythology’s ’eight precious things’ and a victory banner or umbrella to the right is one of the eight Buddhist symbols, groups of eight often found in Chinese art. There is a satin stitched flower and fruit border in shades of blue, with goldwork butterflies with Chinese knots. The flowers are peonies which represent feminine beauty, love, and affection, and the butterflies are similarly a symbol of young love and marital joy. This combination may suggest these pieces were intended for a woman, possibly for a wedding robe.
The second triangular piece has the same sea and floral border at the base and woven metal braid, but with a phoenix, flower, and cloud motifs. The phoenix (fenghuang) was traditionally the emblem of the empress so suggests a garment for a female, and is a symbol of good omen, prosperity and happiness, beauty, and purity. Dragons and phoenixes are frequently paired in Chinese embroidery and art, the dragon representing the male and the phoenix the female.
The Imperial Chinese dragon was a benevolent entity which in mythology controlled weather to determine the success of food crops, and so by association the responsibility of the emperor to provide for his subjects. 18th-century Qing dynasty sumptuary laws decreed that only the emperor and his very close male relatives could wear five-clawed dragons and use shades of yellow silk for ground fabric. Lower imperial ranks and all officials could show dragons with fewer claws on blue or other coloured ground and wives could wear dragons derived from their father or husband’s rank. By the end of the Qing period in the 19th century, however, these regulations were often overlooked and five-clawed dragons, as seen here, were used regardless of rank. Most mangchu pieces date from the 19th century. The straighter, more ‘blocky’ pattern of the lishui waves on the RSN panels, the design of the dragon with its larger head and five-claws on a blue ground, and the presence of relatively few special symbols all suggest a late 19th-century date. The feminine motifs included suggest the panels were intended for a female garment.
The fragment consists of two panels, one rectangular and one triangular. These panels would have originally been part of a mangchu, translating into English as 'dragon skirt', typically paired with a mangao jacket. Mangchu skirts are often red or green, making this blue example more unusual. During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the mangchu was worn by Han Chinese women, typically the wives of Chinese noblemen or high-ranking officials as part of their quasi-official formal clothing on ceremonial occasions. These skirts were also part of wedding and burial outfits.
The rectangular panel depicts a five-clawed couched metal thread dragon with a pearl of wisdom, surrounded by satin stitched traditional Chinese motifs in multi-coloured silks. Surrounding the dragon are red bats (hongfu) and clouds (xiangyun), both of which are lucky symbols. The Chinese word for bat fu is a homonym for the word for ‘blessings’, while red is the colour of happiness, so red bats mean double happiness. Similarly, ‘clouds’ and ‘fortune’ in Chinese are both pronounced yun, so clouds are also lucky, and bats and clouds together stand for May you have good fortune!'
Below is a stretch of striped ‘deep sea waves’ (lishui) and concentric semicircle ‘surface water’ waves (woshui). A geometric mountain (kunlun shan) above the sea represents the four cosmic points of the universe. To the left of this, a bolt of silk or scroll is one of Chinese mythology’s ’eight precious things’ and a victory banner or umbrella to the right is one of the eight Buddhist symbols, groups of eight often found in Chinese art. There is a satin stitched flower and fruit border in shades of blue, with goldwork butterflies with Chinese knots. The flowers are peonies which represent feminine beauty, love, and affection, and the butterflies are similarly a symbol of young love and marital joy. This combination may suggest these pieces were intended for a woman, possibly for a wedding robe.
The second triangular piece has the same sea and floral border at the base and woven metal braid, but with a phoenix, flower, and cloud motifs. The phoenix (fenghuang) was traditionally the emblem of the empress so suggests a garment for a female, and is a symbol of good omen, prosperity and happiness, beauty, and purity. Dragons and phoenixes are frequently paired in Chinese embroidery and art, the dragon representing the male and the phoenix the female.
The Imperial Chinese dragon was a benevolent entity which in mythology controlled weather to determine the success of food crops, and so by association the responsibility of the emperor to provide for his subjects. 18th-century Qing dynasty sumptuary laws decreed that only the emperor and his very close male relatives could wear five-clawed dragons and use shades of yellow silk for ground fabric. Lower imperial ranks and all officials could show dragons with fewer claws on blue or other coloured ground and wives could wear dragons derived from their father or husband’s rank. By the end of the Qing period in the 19th century, however, these regulations were often overlooked and five-clawed dragons, as seen here, were used regardless of rank. Most mangchu pieces date from the 19th century. The straighter, more ‘blocky’ pattern of the lishui waves on the RSN panels, the design of the dragon with its larger head and five-claws on a blue ground, and the presence of relatively few special symbols all suggest a late 19th-century date. The feminine motifs included suggest the panels were intended for a female garment.
Materials
Stitches
Techniques
Motifs
Catalogue number
RSN.3059
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