Minneapolis Institute of Art

Manchu Woman's Semiformal Court Robe

China

Date

early 18th century

Medium

Silk brocade and embroidered satin

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The color and decoration of early eighteenth-century court robes were strictly regulated. The robes are distinguished by large dragons and the prominent mountain and spiral wave patterns of their hems. The mountains, clouds, waves, and dragons comprised a celestial landscape symbolic of universal order and the imperial court, which carried out the heavenly mandate on earth. Imperial dragon imagery was also standard in the designs of cuffs and collar bands of most court robes. China, Asia

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.