Theatrical jacket with peacock feather design
This jacket from an ensemble (with 32.63.1) features colorful embroidered peacock feathers. Silk flosses in green, yellow, blue, and orange were painstakingly twisted to mimic the feather’s patterns and radiant effects. An exotic bird to the Chinese, the peacock was cherished for its beautiful feathers and is connected with fairies or spirits in Chinese legends.
This type of garment is often characterized as an arhat robe (luohanyi), and it is believed that it would have been worn to play the role of a sacred monk in dramas based on Buddhist history. There are many such robes preserved in the Forbidden City in Beijing and elsewhere, and their varied decoration suggests that this form of dress was probably donned by different characters in large-scale court performances.
This type of garment is often characterized as an arhat robe (luohanyi), and it is believed that it would have been worn to play the role of a sacred monk in dramas based on Buddhist history. There are many such robes preserved in the Forbidden City in Beijing and elsewhere, and their varied decoration suggests that this form of dress was probably donned by different characters in large-scale court performances.
Artwork Details
- 清 緞地彩繡孔雀羽紋羅漢衣
- Title: Theatrical jacket with peacock feather design
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: 18th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Silk and metallic thread embroidery on silk satin, brocade borders
- Dimensions: Overall: 35 1/8 x 81 5/8 in. (89.2 x 207.3 cm)
- Classification: Costumes-Embroidered
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1930
- Object Number: 30.76.16
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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China
18th century
China
first half 18th century
Wang Hui
datable to 1698
Leng Mei
18th century
Japan
second half of the 17th century
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