Woman's Bridal Dress, Dragon Jacket
Unknown Artist
1800s
Medium
Silk, gilt-metal thread; embroidery
Dimensions
104.2 × 153 cm
Classification
Garment
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Elizabeth Wade Sedgwick
Accession Number
2005.135.1
About this artwork
This three-piece bridal dress includes a dragon jacket, a pleated skirt, and a tabard, a short loose-fitting sleeveless vest. The ensemble reveals the high rank of her husband; it did not fall under the scope of the Qing dynasty sumptuary laws. The woman's bridal trousseau contains a short red coat fastened on the side and wide sleeves. It is decorated with ten dragons and other cosmological motifs commonly found on court dress. The presence of ten dragons indicates that the wife's husband was a...