Unknown Artist
- Title
- Insignia badge for a noble
- Other titles:
- Imperial Duke's insignia
- Place of origin
-
China
- Period
- Qianlong 1736 - 1795 → Qing dynasty 1644 - 1911 → China
- Media category
- Textile
- Materials used
- 'kesi' [woven silk]
- Dimensions
-
26.0 x 27.3cm
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of Judith and Ken Rutherford 2000
- Accession number
- 189.2000
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
In the Ming and Qing dynasties the aristocracy as well as civil and military officials wore rank-defining badges on the front and back of their robes. The front-facing dragon would have been worn by a Prince of the Blood, who had been granted the right to wear the five-clawed creature by the emperor. The rich motifs include the rocks, the waves and the cloud representing the earth, the sea and the sky symbolising the universe, and the peony, bat and lingzhi (magical mushroom) symbolising nobility and longevity.
Asian Art Department, AGNSW, January 2012.
- Bibliography (3)
-
Imperial wardrobe 1990, 1990, pg. 127. plate no. 106
'The Marvel of Porcelain', The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, 2003, 126 (colour illus.).
Judith Rutherford (Australia) (Editor), Jackie Menzies (Australia) (Editor), Celestial silks: Chinese religious & court textiles, Sydney, 2004, 87, 88 (colour illus.). cat.no. 54
- Exhibition history (2)
-
Celestial silks: Chinese religious & court textiles, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 31 Jul 2004–24 Oct 2004.
Dragon (2012), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 18 Jan 2012–06 May 2012.
