rank insignia; textile; Mandarin square

The right section for the wearer of a mandarin square, or rank badge, for the front of a coat. Made with couched embroidery on a brown satin ground. It depicts a bird, one of the emblems of rank of a civil official, perhaps a silver pheasant, of the fifth rank. The front section of the bird, worked largely in silver-coloured metal-wrapped thread on a separate fabric, is applied to the ground. It is looking upwards towards a red sun in the top left hand corner. Surrounding the bird are rows of the cloud and thunder pattern, worked in tones of blue silk fibres and outlined in silver-coloured thread. Four large symbolic motifs complete the upper section. The lower section has couched gold and silver right leaning diagonal lines. The imagery is framed with spirals interlinked with a fret pattern. The textile is lined with a tabby woven blue silk.

Collection Information

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