Tibetan Man's Robe, Chuba
Unknown Artist
late 1600s
Medium
Silk, gilt-metal thread of two kinds: satin weave with supplementary weft patterning
Dimensions
width across shoulders: w. 189.9 cm · length back of neck to hem: l. 152.4 cm
Classification
Garment
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund
Accession Number
2007.216
About this artwork
This magnificent robe for a Tibetan lama or an aristocrat was originally a Chinese imperial wall hanging. Tibetan tailors cut it into 60 separate units, reassembling the fabric for a completely new and bold design. The wearer of such a garment must have impressed bystanders by his striking appearance. What you see here is the robe’s back side. Textiles played an important role in Chinese diplomacy with foreign governments. Diplomatic gifts of silk served to pacify border populations and to maint...