Touched by Indigo - Royal Ontario Museum

I
THIS UPPER GARMENT is loose-fitting and long, reaching to
the calf. Called ao, it would have been worn with a pair of trousers.12
The main parts are made of white
cotton tabby. The neckband, diagonal
side opening, side vents, and hem are
all appliqued with indigo-dyed cotton.
The applique motifs located at the side
vents are the ruyi. Those positioned at
the hem repeat the same motifs but they
have been reconfigured in a fanciful way
so that the corner motifs may also be interpreted as
bats with outspread wings, and the middle one, with the
addition of a four-leaf pattern suggestive of the calyx of a
persimmon (shizi), may evoke the auspicious phrase shishi
ruyi (everything happens as one wishes). The bat (fu) supplies
a homophone commonly used to symbolize good
fortune or happiness (fu). In addition, the coin motif (also
doubling as the head of the bat) located at each corner of
the hem symbolizes wealth as well as fertility.
A variety of showy colours have been added to
soften the sombreness of the wide border trimming and
the stark contrast between the large areas of blue and
white. Pink, red, bright yellow, and different shades of
green, for example, are provided by the silk-embroidered floral
meander on the black standup collar. A cotton tape, woven with
green and pale yellow motifs, sewn as an inside border around the
applique, contributes to the whole a pervasive and intense shade of
pink. Furthermore, the bright orange wool twill sleeve band attached
to a black border is edged with another cotton tape adorned with
repeat images of butterflies, zigzags, and ruyi picked out in green,
purple, and orange against a white background. The same bright
orange wool twill has also been used as applique in the large ruyi
at the side vent and as insertions below some of the piercings of the
applique work at the hem. Silk-wrapped threads in red and green,
too, are each combined with a similarly constructed beige thread to
create (using a couching stitch) a double
outline to accentuate the contours of the
large ruyi.
The great variety of materials,
colours, and techniques of weaving,
embroidery, and sewing that have been
employed in the creation of this garment
makes it a truly amazing work. We may
imagine how proud its creator must have felt when she
wore it on a festive occasion.
THIS STRAIGHT-CUT HIP-LENGTH GARMENT
has a front opening with no fastening device. It is lined
with unbleached cotton. The shell is also made of cotton.
Called liangbu or glossy cloth, it has been treated by
dyeing and a special process to engender the jet-black
sheen. The sleeveless coat is embellished in two distinctively
different ways. The edges of the front opening
are reinforced subtly by a red thread sewn with running
stitch. The neck is finished with an applied collar
decorated with flashy applique work and embroidery.
Set against a dark background, three groups of ruyi are
embroidered with close-ring chain stitch (black outline) and doublering
chain stitch (white outline) on three separate pieces of rectangular
orange cotton applique. They are divided and enclosed by an appliqued
orange border embroidered with green and yellow geometric
4. WOMAN'S COAT, Cotton and wool twill, 1900-1925, Miao ethnic group,
Cuizhou province, Gift of Mr. W.G. Windsor, 932.8.5, L. 140cmxW. 130cm
16