Dragon Banner
maker
Unknown
Dateearly 19th century
Place MadeChina, East Asia
MediumEmbroidered silk, metallic threads
Dimensions406.4 x 335.3 cm (160 x 132 in.)
ClassificationsTextile Arts
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberT26sip50
eMuseum ID720139
EmbARK ObjectID13380
Alt. No. 1 (Siple)050
Textile Database Number1098
TMS Source ID2331
Last Updated1/16/25
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryA dragon motif was stitched with silk and metallic threads onto the surface of this triangular banner. Its imagery and shape recall military banners from the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). While we do not know with certainty where the banner came from or what it was used for, it was possible that the collector and scholar Denman Ross (1853-1935) gave it to Isabella Stewart Gardner.
BibliographyNotesGabrielle Niu, "A Dragon Banner in the Courtyard," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 15 January 2025, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/dragon-banner-courtyard
ProvenanceNotesProbably purchased by the art collector and design theorist Denman Waldo Ross (1853-1935) in China.
Gift from Denman Waldo Ross to Isabella Stewart Gardner at an unknown date.
Gift from Denman Waldo Ross to Isabella Stewart Gardner at an unknown date.
