Shawl

Unknown

1885–1910 · silk · Costume Institute

The detail of the embroidery in the central genre scene of this shawl is highly unusual. Both the faces and the headdresses of the characters are extraordinarily detailed. The feather headdress is of a type found in Chinese opera, where an extended pair of pheasant feathers are used to indicate the character is a warrior figure--the height of the feathers signify the warrior's rank. The pink crepe lining and two-tiered fringe are two additional details that make this shawl distinctive.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1885–1910

Medium

silk

Culture

Chinese

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Daniel M. McKeon and Robert Hoguet, Jr., 1965