Court Robe

This Chinese court robe is approximately the same age as the one used to make the Japanese kesa displayed here, and both are made of brocaded satin. Eight dragons, four seen full-face and four in profile, are visible when the robe is worn. The frontal dragons are on the chest, the upper back, and each shoulder, while the profile dragons decorate the lower part of the robe, one pair confronted on the front and the other on the back. A fifth profile dragon, not seen when the robe is worn, occurs under the front overlap, for a total of nine dragons. In contrast, the kesa features eight dragons, three seen full-face and five in profile; one frontal dragon from a shoulder is missing.

Dragon robes of the Qing dynasty featured comparatively narrow sleeves ending in crescent-shaped cuffs. The robes' decoration was standardized: appropriately placed dragons occurred among clouds at the top of the robe and water, waves, and mountains at the hem.