This is a Chinese jacket that was made as part of a theater costume. Theater costumes are easily identifiable by their oversized, loose cut and sturdy construction, as well as by their elaborate designs. Costumes would exaggerate the features of everyday attire in order to effectively portray the stereotyped characters that populate classical Chinese opera stories.

This particular jacket features a commonly used design combination of confronting dragons against a cloud design with ocean waves around the hem and cuffs. The entire design is made using couched gold metal-wrapped thread on a black silk ground, with touches of pink and blue embroidered highlights.

Techniques: hand stitched
Culture: Chinese
Geographic Location: East Asia, China
Credit Line: Gift of Yvonne Porcella
This jacket features a commonly used design combination of confronting dragons against a cloud design with ocean waves around the hem and cuffs. The entire design is made using couched gold metal-wrapped thread on black silk, with touches of pink and blue highlights.