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Not currently on display at the V&A

Robe

ca. 1790 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This robe was made to adorn a statue of the Chinese deity, Guan Di.

Guan Di, also known as Guan Yu, was an important General of the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms era. His heroism and strong character continues to be recounted through the Chinese historical classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He is venerated as a deity in Chinese tradition because of his characteristic uprightness.

The title Guan Di literally means 'The Emperor Guan"; on this robe we see symbols from the twelve insignia used by royalty (such as the symmetrical fu symbol in the centre of the robe; millet; flames; mountains; axes and pheasants), underscoring the importance of Guan Di in traditional Chinese beliefs.Since he was considered to be equal to an emperor, it is woven with many of the symbols seen on the emperor’s yellow clothes of the same period.

This robe would have been one of a set of clothes of different colours made for the same statue, to be changed according to seasons.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Brocaded silk damask and metallic thread
Brief description
Temple robe of brocaded silk damask, China, ca. 1790
Physical description
Robe of green silk damask with short brocade sleeves and collar. The front is also brocaded. The remainder is silk with a damask pattern of clouds. The brocade is in blues, yellow, green, brown, orange, pink and red. The garment makes plentiful use of gold thread.

The design is of large mang-dragons (4-clawed) on either side of the skirt at the front, on the sleeves and on the back and front of the collar. The design also includes the 'twelve symbols', cloud forms and a wave border at the bottom.

There is an inscription on the inside fold over. The garment has two sets of tying strings.
Dimensions
  • Height: 161.5cm
  • Width: 195.6cm
Style
Gallery label
Robe for Statue of Guan Di About 1790, Qing dynasty Temple figures were sometimes dressed in clothes. This robe was made for a large statue of Guan Di. Since he was considered to be equal to the emperor, it is woven with many of the symbols seen on the emperor's yellow robes of the same period. Woven silk Museum no. T.752-1950(1992)
Credit line
Bequeathed by W. Llewellyn Jones
Object history
This robe would have been worn by a statue of Guan Di, the Taoist god of war.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This robe was made to adorn a statue of the Chinese deity, Guan Di.

Guan Di, also known as Guan Yu, was an important General of the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms era. His heroism and strong character continues to be recounted through the Chinese historical classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He is venerated as a deity in Chinese tradition because of his characteristic uprightness.

The title Guan Di literally means 'The Emperor Guan"; on this robe we see symbols from the twelve insignia used by royalty (such as the symmetrical fu symbol in the centre of the robe; millet; flames; mountains; axes and pheasants), underscoring the importance of Guan Di in traditional Chinese beliefs.Since he was considered to be equal to an emperor, it is woven with many of the symbols seen on the emperor’s yellow clothes of the same period.

This robe would have been one of a set of clothes of different colours made for the same statue, to be changed according to seasons.
Collection
Accession number
T.752-1950

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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