Minneapolis Institute of Art

Daoist priest’s robe (jiangyi)

China

Date

Qianlong period, 1736–1795

Medium

silk, gold

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

An inscription painted on the back lining reveals that this robe was made in 1746 for the head of a Daoist monastery on Mount Longhu, in present-day Jiangxi Province. A classic example of the poncho-like, sleeveless Daoist style, the robe is covered with gold threads in an allover spiral pattern. Daoist symbols of good fortune and longevity—bats, white cranes, small pagodas, and phoenixes—appear within lozenge-shaped medallions of loose clouds formed of silk thread. The round central medallion on the back features a large pagoda and white cranes, also worked in silk. Sun and moon symbols adorn the shoulders. China, Asia

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