Theatrical jacket with grapevines

Theatrical jacket with grapevines

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The pattern on this jacket—part of a theatrical costume with skirt 30.76.23— features an amalgam of grapevines and dragons that twists and curves across the white background. You can see one dragon head on the left of the jacket, and another can be found in the center on the back. The quality of both the materials and the workmanship is very high: note the subtle changes in color of the silk embroidery within the leaves and the use of gold thread to delineate the branches, leaves, and tendrils of the grapevine.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Theatrical jacket with grapevinesTheatrical jacket with grapevinesTheatrical jacket with grapevinesTheatrical jacket with grapevinesTheatrical jacket with grapevines

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.