robe, dragon; Chinese dragon robe : presented to William John Brinsden, Auckland

Creator Name

unknown

Cultural Context

China

Date

[19th Century]

Source

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira

About the Work

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira Object Description

Chinese dragon robe (ch'i-fu): presented to William John Brinsden (horse cab driver) after he rescued a young Chinese man who fell from a ship into Auckland harbour, circa late 1890s. Some months later someone came to his door and presented the robe as a gift of thanks from the family of the young man.

Note: a ch'ao-fu is a formal garment consisting of two parts, an upper hip length riding style coat, and a lower paired overlapping skirt. It was worn only for important sacrificial ceremonies and rituals by members of the Imperial family and high ranking officials.

A ch'i-fu (dragon robe) was worn for all other court occasions and official duties. It is a full length, right front, side fastening garment.

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Work details

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Title

robe, dragon; Chinese dragon robe : presented to William John Brinsden, Auckland

Creator

unknown, maker

Worktype

Robe; Main Garments; Clothing; Personal Artifacts; textiles

Cultural Context

China

Material

silk (textile); metallic thread; fibre; .1robe: silk with silk and metallic embroidery; .2: collar silk cloth with metallic embroidery; .3: hat has cotton lining, metal button; screw and cotton cord chin strap

Dimensions

Chinese dragon robe, collar and hat;
.1 robe: royal blue silk robe with pink/gold embroidery all over; teal blue silk lining; crossover front with 3-button closure, left crosses over right, right flap is plain blue;
.2 collar: large black collar with metallic embroidery; lined with blue cotton; cloth bobble and loop closure at centre front neck; wing-shaped collar;
.3 hat: purple and black hat with screw protruding from centre top button which holds together red loop braid; red cotton lining; blue cord chinstrap;
1395mm;
765mm;
650mm;
370mm;
773mm;
12mm;
250mm;
230mm;
110mm;
.1 robe: length: 1395mm; sleeve length (from neck edge) 765mm; chest width: 650mm;
.2 collar: hxw: 360mm x 765 mm;
.3 hat: hxwxd: 90mm x 230mm x 255mm

Technique

Language

Date

Accession: 24 Sep 2007;
[19th Century]

Provenance

Collection of Auckland Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira, 2007.83.1; given to Central Chinese Association by; given to Beryl Finlay by; given to Sydney Brinsden by; Auckland/New Zealand

Style Period

Rights

Auckland Museum CC BY

Inscription

Location

[China]; Unknown; Auckland/New Zealand; China

Source

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira

Subjects

China/migration

Topic

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