Festival Overcoat

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

When the Manchus of the Qing dynasty came into power, they incorporated roundels with dragons into their official court dress, as seen on this woman's coat. This coat, called “jifu gua” or “longgua”, was designed to be worn over a festival robe. This overcoat is a rare example that can be dated to the early part of the eighteenth century by comparison to garments excavated from the tomb of Prince Guo, who died in 1738. After standardization in the mid-eighteenth century, coats with eight dragon roundels, such as this one, were reserved for the empress dowager, the empress, imperial concubines of the first, second, and third rank, and the consort of the crown prince.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art