Woman's Bridal Dress, Tabard (1800s): Art, History and Details

Woman's Bridal Dress, Tabard (1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This three-piece bridal dress includes a dragon jacket, pleated skirt, and tabard, a short loose-fitting sleeveless vest. The ensemble reveals the high rank of her husband even though it did not fall under the scope of the Qing Dynasty sumptuary laws. The three-quarter-length sleeveless tabard completes the outfit, with a front closure, open sides secured by cloth bands, and a colorful tasseled fringe around the hem. Dragons, water, and clouds are embroidered on the silk ground.

Object facts

• Title: Woman's Bridal Dress, Tabard
• Date: 1800s
• Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
• Type: Garment
• Technique: Silk, gilt-metal thread; embroidery
• Dimensions: Overall: 111.8 x 73.7 cm (44 x 29 in.)
• Collection: Textiles
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 2005.135.3

A detail from the museum

A rank badge applied on the front and back shows that the bride married a man of high official rank.

Collection credit

Gift of Elizabeth Wade Sedgwick

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.