Temple robe of brocaded silk damask, China, ca. 1790This robe was made to adorn a statue of the Chinese deity, Guan Di.
Guan Di, also known as Guan Yu, was an important General of the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms era. His heroism and strong character continues to be recounted through the Chinese historical classic <i>Romance of the Three Kingdoms</i>. He is venerated as a deity in Chinese tradition because of his characteristic uprightness.
The title <i>Guan Di</i> literally means 'The Emperor Guan"; on this robe we see symbols from the twelve insignia used by royalty (such as the symmetrical <i>fu</i> symbol in the centre of the robe; millet; flames; mountains; axes and pheasants), underscoring the importance of Guan Di in traditional Chinese beliefs.Since he was considered to be equal to an emperor, it is woven with many of the symbols seen on the emperor’s yellow clothes of the same period.
This robe would have been one of a set of clothes of different colours made for the same statue, to be changed according to seasons.Robe of green silk damask with short brocade sleeves and collar. The front is also brocaded. The remainder is silk with a damask pattern of clouds. The brocade is in blues, yellow, green, brown, orange, pink and red. The garment makes plentiful use of gold thread.
The design is of large <i>mang</i>-dragons (4-clawed) on either side of the skirt at the front, on the sleeves and on the back and front of the collar. The design also includes the 'twelve symbols', cloud forms and a wave border at the bottom.
There is an inscription on the inside fold over. The garment has two sets of tying strings.