Theatrical robe with eight trigrams

Theatrical robe with eight trigrams

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This robe features symbols used in Daoist divination, including a black and white roundel (taiji) on the front and back, and eight sets of black trigrams (bagua). A theatrical garment like this was generally worn to play a strategist with magic power. It was used, for example, by an actor playing Zhuge Liang (181–234) from the play Yangping Pass. On view during Rotation 1 of exhibition from June 25, 2016 through January 13, 2017.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Theatrical robe with eight trigramsTheatrical robe with eight trigramsTheatrical robe with eight trigramsTheatrical robe with eight trigramsTheatrical robe with eight trigrams

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.