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Sleeveless garment
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This loose-fitting bamboo vest is a summer undershirt, made of an estimated 3,490 fine bamboo tubes. The overall structure of the vest is held together with cotton thread. Such vests were worn under an outer garment to allow the air to circulate and protect the outer garment from soilage, especially in the hot and humid climate of southern China. Textual evidence indicates that officials during the 1500s in Jiangnan wore bamboo vests from Jiangsu province, one of the production centers.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineSleeveless garment (竹衣), 1800s. China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Bamboo beads strung together in diamond and hexagon patterns; edges in plain weave cotton; overall: 56.5 x 56.5 cm (22 1/4 x 22 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Educational Purchase Fund, 1915.410
