Previous image 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 / 22 Next image

Unknown Maker, Chinese

Summer festive robe (jifu or ch'i-fu) for an empress with dragons, clouds, twelve imperial symbols, and the symbol for double happiness (shuangxi

Maker

Unknown Maker, Chinese

Culture

Chinese, Qing

Title

Summer festive robe (jifu or ch'i-fu) for an empress with dragons, clouds, twelve imperial symbols, and the symbol for double happiness (shuangxi

Period

Ching Dynasty

Year

ca. 1888

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

silk, metallic yarn

Geography

Place Made: China

Dimensions

Length: 139.7 cm (55 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich

Object Number

35.391

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

Asian Textiles and the Grammar of Ornament
Design in the Victorian Age
Nov 16, 2007 – Aug 03, 2008
Of Peonies and Dragon's Toes
Chinese Costume from the Xing Dynasty
Jun 24, 1998 – Sep 13, 1998
The Applied Image
Mar 11, 1998 – Jun 21, 1998

Label copy

Gauze was used instead of satin for summer robes. The open weave of the silk gauze allows the embroiderer to use counted stitch. Counted stitch results in a grid pattern that contrasts with the rounder shapes achieved using other stitches (see the satin stitch on the silk jacket and skirt to the right). RISD's gauze qifu is an imperial under robe and was probably worn at court, perhaps by the emperor himself, as suggested by the many couched five-clawed dragons, a traditional symbol of the emperor.

The Seductive Stitch
Asian Embroidery
Dec 15, 1995 – Mar 10, 1996
A World of Costume and Textiles
"Tapestries through the Ages"
Sep 22, 1989 – Nov 12, 1989

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

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
Summer festive robe (jifu or ch'i-fu) for an empress with dragons, clouds, twelve imperial symbols, and the symbol for double happiness (shuangxi, ca. 1888
Embroidered polychrome and metallic-wrapped threads on yellow silk gauze (zhijingsha) ; lining: yellow silk tabby
Length: 139.7 cm (55 inches)
Gift of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 35.391

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.