Woman's Bridal Dress: Dragon Jacket, Pleated Skirt, Tabard

Description

This three-piece bridal dress includes a dragon jacket, a pleated skirt, and a tabard, a short loose-fitting sleeveless vest. The ensemble reveals the high rank of her husband even though it did not fall under the scope of the Qing Dynasty sumptuary laws.

The woman's bridal trousseau contains a short red coat with side-fastening and wide sleeves. It is decorated with ten dragons and other cosmological motifs commonly found on court dress. The presence of ten dragons indicates that the wife's husband was a high-ranking official.

The dragon jacket was worn over a pleated turquoise skirt, with six embroidered panels which feature dragons in the front and back.

A three-quarter-length sleeveless tabard completes the outfit, with a front closure, open sides secured by cloth bands, and a colorful tasseled fringe around the hem. Dragons, water, and clouds are embroidered on the silk ground. In addition, a rank badge applied on the front and back shows that the bride married a man of high official rank.

Provenance

Elizabeth Wade Sedgwick [1913–2013], Lexington, MA, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?–2005); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2005–)

Woman's Bridal Dress: Dragon Jacket, Pleated Skirt, Tabard

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1800s

Accession Number

2005.135

Medium

Silk, gilt-metal thread; embroidery

Dimensions

Overall: 104.2 x 153 cm (41 x 60 1/4 in.)

Classification

Garment

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Elizabeth Wade Sedgwick