RSN.3115 | RSN Collection & Archive

Flag

19th century

Vietnam
China

19th-century Chinese or Vietnamese brown silk flag with raised work dragon in grey and cream silk threads.

Rectangular brown silk flag with five tabs for hanging and backed with brown linen, embroidered with a large raised work coiled dragon motif with trailing clouds. The four-clawed dragon is worked in silks, the body and head in shades of grey. It has cream and white horns and spiked dorsal crest in laid and couched work, with black detail on the eyes and horns. The body is textured with a couched basketweave stitch in silk to represent scales, with a pale grey and cream Bayeux stitch laid and couched belly. The head, eyes, and clouds are worked in long and short and satin stitch, outlined with overcast stitch trailing, which is also used for long whiskers extending from the head. Small straight stitch and laid stitches provide detail of beard, moustache, teeth, and feet. There is a loose stem stitch outline in cream defining outer edges of the clouds. Some damaged areas of the brown silk ground have been repaired and supported using a long running stitch.

The flag dates to the 19th century, but its precise origins are contested. The dragon is typical of Chinese embroideries, but embroideries on the private market with similarly-wrought dragons, especially those with basketweave bodies, are sometimes labelled as being Vietnamese. For the Vietnamese, dragons symbolise power, nobility, and immortality. Dragons with five claws were reserved for imperial use, while one with four claws could be used for royal dignitaries and high ranking court officials.

width: 44cm
height: 43cm

silk
silk thread

Laid work