Chinese, China

In this robe, most of the pattern is rendered by a technique known in China as kesi (slit tapestry weave). Though the piece is executed in simple plain weave, the ren-dering of this elaborate imagery in fine silk thread required constant changes of color to create tiny cells of different colors. Scattered across the back of this robe amidst auspicious symbols of clouds and cranes are fourteen male figures, with another four depicted on the front of the robe. These men represent the Eighteen Luohan (Sanskrit: Arhat), Buddhist practitioners that have reached a degree of enlightenment. The presence of Buddhist icons shows how some Taoist sects adopted a syncretic iconography. The bottom border of the robe is decorated with an image of Mount Kunlun, the residence of the Queen Mother of the West. The mountain is surrounded by waves of water above which float auspicious animals (deer, dragon) and symbols (coins, scrolls). The front of the robe is mostly plain except for the shoulder area decorated with the four Luohan, cranes along the edges, water and animals at bottom, and dragons and cranes on the collar flaps.