Apron

Museum number:
9-21306
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21090021306
Alternate number:
III - 17 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.4697
Description:
Shaman’s apron. Eighteen gores of patterned silk flaring from 3 to 3.5 cm width at the waistline to between 7.5 and 9.8 cm width at the bottom are arranged in a color scheme of yellow, cobalt blue, apricot, lemon green, scarlet, hunter green, gold, burnt Sienna; the same sequence repeated; and eggshell white and peach. The seams are covered with 1.6 cm wide strips of cobalt blue satin. They end 4.2 to 5.2 cm above the bottom of the apron. The last 14 cm changing into 7.5 cm of black satin with chevron decorations above and at the end. The cobalt blue satin tips are always off the seam to the right. The chevrons at the upper and lower ends of the black strip are formed of a 0.8 cm wide, woven silk (?) tape with white, sea green and maize zones, their order in the upper application reversed in the lower one. Black bars with more or less faded red dots run through all three zones. The 1.5 cm-wide silk tape above the final chevron has a running floral pattern between 2 thin light blue lines. On the white ground, the color scheme of the pattern is apple green and shades of blue, also red. Below the seam tapes, the gores are connected only with basting stitches. The narrow hem was done last. A 9.5 to 10 cm-high waistband of ochre silk is run through with a red and gold rayon (?) tie. Both waist and hemline slightly rounded. Width of apron at bottom: 153 cm; at waistline: 61.5 cm.
Donor:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection place:
Peking, Beijing province, China
Verbatim coll. place:
China. Purchased in Peking at flea market. Manchu Dynasty 1644-1911.
Culture or time period:
Manchu people and Qing dynasty (1644–1912 AD)
Collector:
Ilse Martin Fang
Collection date:
1945
Materials:
Rayon, Satin, and Silk
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Aprons (main garments)
Function:
5.2 Magic: Objects Associated with Practices reflecting confidence in the ability to manipulate supernatural agencies
Production date:
Manchu Dynasty
Accession date:
December 15, 1998
Context of use:
Shaman’s apron. Fide: Ilse M. Fang, 8/28/2001: Shamans are men, but there are also some women soothsayers, etc. This was only for ceremonial wear. From the Taoist tradition - but this one is more Manchurian.
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Dimensions:
Waistline width— width 61.5 centimeters and Bottom width— width 153 centimeters
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 3 titled Apron, accession number 9-21306, described as Shaman’s apron. Eighteen gores of patterned silk flaring from 3 to 3.5 cm width at the waistline to between 7.5 and 9.8 cm width at the bottom are arranged in a color scheme of yellow, cobalt blue, apricot, lemon green, scarlet, hunter green, gold, burnt Sienna; the same sequence repeated; and eggshell white and peach. The seams are covered with 1.6 cm wide strips of cobalt blue satin. They end 4.2 to 5.2 cm above the bottom of the apron. The last 14 cm changing into 7.5 cm of black satin with chevron decorations above and at the end. The cobalt blue satin tips are always off the seam to the right. The chevrons at the upper and lower ends of the black strip are formed of a 0.8 cm wide, woven silk (?) tape with white, sea green and maize zones, their order in the upper application reversed in the lower one. Black bars with more or less faded red dots run through all three zones. The 1.5 cm-wide silk tape above the final chevron has a running floral pattern between 2 thin light blue lines. On the white ground, the color scheme of the pattern is apple green and shades of blue, also red. Below the seam tapes, the gores are connected only with basting stitches. The narrow hem was done last. A 9.5 to 10 cm-high waistband of ochre silk is run through with a red and gold rayon (?) tie. Both waist and hemline slightly rounded. Width of apron at bottom: 153 cm; at waistline: 61.5 cm.Hearst Museum object 2 of 3 titled Apron, accession number 9-21306, described as Shaman’s apron. Eighteen gores of patterned silk flaring from 3 to 3.5 cm width at the waistline to between 7.5 and 9.8 cm width at the bottom are arranged in a color scheme of yellow, cobalt blue, apricot, lemon green, scarlet, hunter green, gold, burnt Sienna; the same sequence repeated; and eggshell white and peach. The seams are covered with 1.6 cm wide strips of cobalt blue satin. They end 4.2 to 5.2 cm above the bottom of the apron. The last 14 cm changing into 7.5 cm of black satin with chevron decorations above and at the end. The cobalt blue satin tips are always off the seam to the right. The chevrons at the upper and lower ends of the black strip are formed of a 0.8 cm wide, woven silk (?) tape with white, sea green and maize zones, their order in the upper application reversed in the lower one. Black bars with more or less faded red dots run through all three zones. The 1.5 cm-wide silk tape above the final chevron has a running floral pattern between 2 thin light blue lines. On the white ground, the color scheme of the pattern is apple green and shades of blue, also red. Below the seam tapes, the gores are connected only with basting stitches. The narrow hem was done last. A 9.5 to 10 cm-high waistband of ochre silk is run through with a red and gold rayon (?) tie. Both waist and hemline slightly rounded. Width of apron at bottom: 153 cm; at waistline: 61.5 cm.Hearst Museum object 3 of 3 titled Apron, accession number 9-21306, described as Shaman’s apron. Eighteen gores of patterned silk flaring from 3 to 3.5 cm width at the waistline to between 7.5 and 9.8 cm width at the bottom are arranged in a color scheme of yellow, cobalt blue, apricot, lemon green, scarlet, hunter green, gold, burnt Sienna; the same sequence repeated; and eggshell white and peach. The seams are covered with 1.6 cm wide strips of cobalt blue satin. They end 4.2 to 5.2 cm above the bottom of the apron. The last 14 cm changing into 7.5 cm of black satin with chevron decorations above and at the end. The cobalt blue satin tips are always off the seam to the right. The chevrons at the upper and lower ends of the black strip are formed of a 0.8 cm wide, woven silk (?) tape with white, sea green and maize zones, their order in the upper application reversed in the lower one. Black bars with more or less faded red dots run through all three zones. The 1.5 cm-wide silk tape above the final chevron has a running floral pattern between 2 thin light blue lines. On the white ground, the color scheme of the pattern is apple green and shades of blue, also red. Below the seam tapes, the gores are connected only with basting stitches. The narrow hem was done last. A 9.5 to 10 cm-high waistband of ochre silk is run through with a red and gold rayon (?) tie. Both waist and hemline slightly rounded. Width of apron at bottom: 153 cm; at waistline: 61.5 cm.

Tools