Chinese Court Robes: The Mint Museum Collection

October 19, 2009 - July 3, 2011

Mint Museum of Art

Formal Court Robe, circa 1870-1890 (detail)

1994.107

Silk with silk floss and metallic thread embroidery

Gift of O. Charlie Chewning, Jr. and M. Ruth Chewning.

From The Mint Museum's Asian Art collection, 7 exquisite examples of Chinese Court Robes are on display in the Crossland Gallery at the Mint Museum of Art. These silk, richly embroidered garments display the symbolic ornamentation dictated by the Manchu ruling family and its strict hierarchy of rank and court position. The Qing dynasty ruled China from 1644 to 1911 - a now unimaginable length of time for a reigning family - and its institutionalized dress code was one method its rule was enforced. The garments on display were created in the period at the end of the dynasty and the beginning of the 20th century.

Online Resources 

• Costume in the Qing Dynasty from ChinaCulture.org, an informational website created under the auspices of China's Ministry of Culture.

• From the Powerhouse Museum, Chinese Dress in the Qing Dynasty, includes an explanation of symbols and some interpretive activities.
• For an overview of Chinese dress, check out Chinese Clothing: Five Thousand Years History - a virtual pathfinder from UCLA and the Chinese American Museum at Los Angeles.

• This site (site is no longer available) , from the e-museum of Minnesota State University (site is no longer available), provides an short history of the Qing dynasty.

• Here is a glossary of many of the symbols you can find on these remarkable robes.

Winter Court Robe, circa 1875 (detail)

1990.68

Silk with metallic thread and silk floss embroidery, metallic cord and braid

Gift of James Parrington, Jr.

In The Mint Museum Library 

• Brown, Claudia. Weaving China's Past: the Amy S. Clague Collection of Chinese Textiles. Phoenix: Phoenix Art Museum, 2000. NK8883.A1 B76 2000
• Eberhard, Wolfram. A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986. REF DS721.E32613 1980
• Edmonton Art Gallery. Five Colours of the Universe: Symbolism in Clothes and Fabrics of the Ch'ing Dynasty (1644-1911). Edmonton: The Gallery, 1980. NK4783.A1 E38 1980
• Hawley, W.M. Chinese Folk Designs: a Collection of 300 Cut-Paper Designs Used for Embroidery Together with 160 Chinese Art Symbols and Their Meanings. New York: Dover Publications, 1971. NK1483.A1 H3 1971
• Hutt, Julia. Understanding Far Eastern Art: a Complete Guide to the Arts of China, Japan, and Korea - Ceramics, Sculpture, Painting, Prints, Lacquer, Textiles and Metalwork. Oxford: Phaidon, 1987. N7340.H87 1987
• Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chinese Textiles: an Introduction to the Study of Their History, Sources, Techniques, Symbolism, and Use, Occasioned by the Exhibition of Chinese Court Robes and Accessories. [New York]: The Museum, 1931. NK8883.N4
• Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology. Chinese Court Costumes. Toronto, 1946. NK4783.T67

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Created by Joyce Weaver, Librarian