Dragons at the Textile Museum

Last week I went to the Textile Museum in DC.  It is near many of the embassies and in fact seems a little smaller than the embassies of Puerto-Rico and Ireland.

I explored the exhibit Dragons, Nagas, and Creatures of the Deep.  It was about the use of dragon imagery in clothing, rugs, and other textiles. Celebrating the Year of the Dragon, most of the textiles shown are from East and Southeast Asia Chinese.  In addition to images of a variety of dragons including highly stylized versions, there were also images of other mystical creatures.

I was fascinated by the idea that a particular portrayal of dragons could indicate the social class of the wearer of a textile garment.  The example presented at the museum was a surcoat depicting numerous images of dragons with four claws on each hand.  The annotation on the side explained that the hands had originally had five claws, indicating that the owner was of the ruling family.  When he or she gave it to someone who was not authorized to wear five claws, one claw on each hand had to be carefully removed from the coat.

After investigating the museum, I ate lunch in a nearby park with two fellow homeschoolers with whom I had gone to the museum.  A lovely day!