Embroidery depicting cranes in flight against multicolored clouds holding robed figures, and gold discs against a blue background with gold borders.
Embroidery covering the back of a gray ceremonial robe, depicting a tiered building inside a gold circle, surrounded by golden disks, flying cranes, and swirling clouds.
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Unknown Maker, Chinese

Daoist Priest's Robe (Jiangyi)

Maker

Unknown Maker, Chinese

Culture

Chinese

Title

Daoist Priest's Robe (Jiangyi)

Period

Qing Dynasty

Year

1800s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

silk, metallic yarn, gilt paper

Geography

Place Made: China

Dimensions

Center back length: 135.3 cm (53 1/4 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich

Object Number

55.242

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

Being and Believing in the Natural World
Perspectives from the Ancient Mediterranean, Asia, and Indigenous North America
Oct 22, 2022 – Jun 04, 2023

Label copy

In many parts of Asia, garments worn for rituals often include depictions of natural elements considered sacred and divine. Worn by high-ranking Daoist priests during formal rituals, jiangyi are usually adorned with auspicious designs. This example is covered with cranes and mythical animals.

People of the Shan State in Myanmar and Northern Thailand use yantras, or geometric diagrams with animal designs and inscriptions, to ward off evil spirits. Yantras are commonly painted on textiles, as seen on this undershirt, or tattooed on the body.

—WC

From the Land of the Immortals
Chinese Taoist Robes and Textiles
Jan 13, 2012 – Apr 22, 2012

Label copy

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.

A World of Costume and Textiles
"Tapestries through the Ages"
Sep 22, 1989 – Nov 12, 1989
Ch'ing Dynasty Men's Wear
Court and Religious Attire After the Manchu Conquest
May 08, 1987 – Aug 15, 1987

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Chinese
Daoist Priest's Robe (Jiangyi), 1800s
Silk, metallic yarn, tapestry weave
Center back length: 135.3 cm (53 1/4 inches)
Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 55.242

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