Object History
This western-style silk women’s long coat in (satin) weave was purchased by Dr. Reem El Mutwalli for enhancing the collection of the Zay Initiative in 2015 from a dealer in London.
Object Features
This is a lovely teal blue colour women’s silk long jacket in a satin weave. It is a western-style jacket with broad lapelled collars, and full sleeves, and reaches the wearer’s low calf. It is embellished mostly with (satin_stitch) and (chain_stitch) embroidery in silk floss and metal threads.
Although it is a Western-style jacket, it is clear from its design elements and embellishment styles that it in fact has been repurposed from a Chinese Qing period – 1644-1912 – (jifupao) or auspicious robe popularly worn by noble women and wives of imperial officers during important family occasions in a domestic setting – away from the court.
The jacket is embellished with eight roundels scattered all across its field. These roundels are filled with motifs of elements and signs auspicious and symbolic of Buddhist beliefs embroidered in shades of pink, ivory, coral, blue, and grey silk floss threads.
The immediately recognisable symbols in each roundel are the Buddhists’ emblems auspicious objects for good fortune. They are the fish symbolising abundance, the conch shell symbolising the call for worship, the endless knot for long life, the lotus for unblemished purity, the wheel of law, and the ping or sacred vase that holds the water of life.
Apart from these, the other recognisable motifs are that of the flame and the flaming pearls symbolising wealth and success.
The bottom of the jacket has (lishui) stripes which were clearly removed and reused to construct the lapels for the collar and the broad cuffs of the sleeves. A series of chain_stitch embroidery runs along the jacket’s bust and back. This is possibly to cover up different parts that were cut and then stitched together in different positions for repurposing and redesigning the original piece.
Links
- https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1106&context=tsaconf
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrXWXKoq2GY
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef28p8MtMaU
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWfu_mWNnUY
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPvzuVOYEsE
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdBeGFHxmAc
- https://www.needlework-tips-and-techniques.com/cutwork-embroidery.html
- https://www.christies.com/features/Chinese-robes-collecting-guide-7813-1.aspx
- https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6130068
- https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/art-asia/blue-ground-kesi-surcoat-longgua-655/156157
- https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/26228#
- https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/wpcontent/uploads/2020/07/Sheet7_AsianEduRes_A4_sheets
- https://artsandculture.google.com/story/reading-a-dragon-robe/EwIywfDtcg-mKg
- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/68920
- https://nazmiyalantiquerugs.com/blog/kesi-chinese-tapestry/
- https://www.wei-yee.com/craftsmanship/kesi-chinese-silk-tapestry-weaving
- https://www.britannica.com/art/kesi
- https://encyclocraftsapr.com/kesi/
- https://australian.museum/learn/cultures/international-collection/chinese/mandarin
- https://www.penn.museum/collections/highlights/highlight.php?irn=4025
- https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/246110
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