Short coat: dragons and auspicious symbols

DATE:: late 19th century
MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE:: Silk, metal-wrapped yarn
CLASSIFICATION:: Textiles
DIMENSIONS:: 45 1/2 × 57 3/4 in. (115.57 × 146.69 cm)
DEPARTMENT:: Arts of Asia
LOCATION:: Not On View
CREDIT LINE:: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Betty Ann Walter and Ruth Walter Benedict in memory of Ethyl Walter and Gladys Walter
COPYRIGHT:: Image courtesy Dallas Museum of Art
OBJECT NUMBER:: 1993.70

General Description

This colorful coat features dragons and other emblems of good luck sewn with threads that were wrapped in bright metallic casing. Dragons were thought by the Chinese to be heavenly creatures, associated with rain, wind, and the forces of nature. Their magical abilities allowed them to shrink to the size of a silkworm or expand to fill the universe.

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