{
"data": {
"id": 95614,
"accession_number": "1916.1330",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Rank Badge (buzi), 1850\u201399. China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Silk; slit tapestry weave (kesi); overall: 29.5 x 32 cm (11 5/8 x 12 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade, 1916.1330",
"current_location": null,
"title": "Rank Badge (buzi)",
"creation_date": "1850\u201399",
"creation_date_earliest": 1850,
"creation_date_latest": 1899,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)"
],
"technique": "silk; slit tapestry weave (kesi)",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "Textiles",
"collection": "Textiles",
"type": "Textile",
"measurements": "Overall: 29.5 x 32 cm (11 5/8 x 12 5/8 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"height": 0.295,
"width": 0.32
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [],
"legacy": []
},
"provenance": [],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": null,
"description": "Rank badges (also called rank insignia or Mandarin squares) were used in China during the Ming (1368\u20131644) and Qing (1644\u20131911) dynasties to demonstrate the wearer\u2019s rank. In 1391 new clothing regulations directed court officials to wear decorative squares indicating their rank\u2014birds for civil officials and animals for military officials. During the Qing dynasty rank badge design was regulated, and certain creatures were associated with specific ranks. Qing badges depict a representation of the universe with a landscape and a central creature, surrounded by clouds and facing the sun. The sun represented the emperor and this composition showed the official\u2019s loyalty to him. An official\u2019s wife wore rank badges that mirrored her husband\u2019s. Most of the examples in CMA\u2019s collection depict creatures facing a sun on the left. Attached to the front and back of a ceremonial robe, rank badges were woven in pairs with identical imagery. One was divided vertically up the center to attach to the front of a robe with a center opening. Rank badges are generally square or rectangular, although round examples exist. They are typically satin weave or slit tapestry weave (kesi) silk. Satin weave badges often have dark backgrounds with silk and/or metal thread embroidery. Some badges incorporate peacock feathers or beads. Late in the Qing dynasty appliqu\u00e9 replaced embroidery to allow for quicker production and a change in rank.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q79477458"
],
"internet_archive": []
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Cammann, Schuyler. \u201cThe Development of the Mandarin Square.\u201d Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 8, no. 2 (1944): 71\u2013130.",
"page_number": "",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Cammann, Schuyler. \u201cEmbroidery Techniques in Old China.\u201d Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America 16 (1962):",
"page_number": "p. 16\u201340",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Cammann, Schuyler. \u201cCostume in China, 1644 to 1912.\u201d Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin 75, no. 326 (1979).",
"page_number": "p. 3\u201319",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Cammann, Schuyler V.R.\" Other Mandarin Squares: Korean, Annamese and Unfamiliar Examples.\" Arts of Asia. [Kowloon, Hong Kong]: [Arts of Asia Publications], (March-April 1992).",
"page_number": "",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "\u9999\u6e2f\u5e02\u653f\u5c40\u8207\u9999\u6e2f\u6771\u65b9\u9676\u74f7\u5b78\u6703\u5408\u8fa6 ; \u907c\u5be7\u7701\u535a\u7269\u9928\u5354\u8fa6 ; \u9999\u6e2f\u85dd\u8853\u9928\u7c4c\u5283 = Heavens' embroidered cloths : one thousand years of Chinese textiles / jointly presented by the Urban Council, Hong Kong and the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong ; in association with the Liaoning Provincial Museum ; organized by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong. Urban Council, Hong Kong. Urban Council, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong, \u907c\u5be7\u7701\u535a\u7269\u9928, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong, and Liaoning Sheng bo wu guan. \u9326\u7e61\u7f85\u8863\u5de7\u5929\u5de5. Hong Kong: Urban Council, 1995.",
"page_number": "",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Wrigglesworth, Linda. \"Making the Grade\", the Badge of Rank III: Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties : December 4th to 24th 1996, London. London: Linda Wrigglesworth, 1996.",
"page_number": "",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Jackson, Beverley, and David Hugus. Ladder to the Clouds: Intrigue and Tradition in Chinese Rank. Berkeley, Calif: Ten Speed Press, 1999.",
"page_number": "",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Hall, Chris. Power Dressing: Textiles for Rulers and Priests from the Chris Hall Collection. Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, 2006.",
"page_number": "",
"url": ""
},
{
"citation": "Watt, James C. Y. \u201cThe Giraffe As the Mythical Qilin in Chinese Art: A Painting and a Rank Badge in the Metropolitan Museum.\u201d Metropolitan Museum Journal 43 (2008): 111\u201315.",
"page_number": "",
"url": ""
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1330",
"images": {
"annotation": null,
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"print": {
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"alternate_images": [],
"creditline": "Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 95614,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1916-05-26T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1850,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "1850\u201399",
"collapse_artists": false,
"on_loan": false,
"recently_acquired": false,
"record_type": "object",
"conservation_statement": null,
"has_conservation_images": false,
"cover_accession_number": null,
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"Insignia (Mandarin) Square"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-03-27 00:10:45.412000"
}
}