清 白緞彩繡八卦衣|Theatrical robe with eight trigrams

Unknown

late 19th century · Silk and metallic thread embroidery on silk satin · Asian Art

This robe features symbols used in Daoist divination, including a black and white roundel (taiji) on the front and back, and eight sets of black trigrams (bagua). A theatrical garment like this was generally worn to play a strategist with magic power. It was used, for example, by an actor playing Zhuge Liang (181–234) from the play Yangping Pass. On view during Rotation 1 of exhibition from June 25, 2016 through January 13, 2017.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 19th century

Medium

Silk and metallic thread embroidery on silk satin

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Miss Ida E. Fischer, in memory of Viola Canman Fischer, 1944