Chinese Dragon Rank Badge Tea Towel*The Met Store Online

Art-inspired gifts for the home.

This eye-catching tea towel nods to a Chinese rank badge made in the 18th–19th century during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Spectacularly embroidered rank badges were worn by government officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties; badges with birds indicated a civil official while animals such as the tiger were reserved for military officers, and each creature corresponded to a specific rank. In this example, a ferocious dragon with deer hooves hovers amid swirling clouds over a raging sea. Typically, the dragon was associated with the imperial family, with specific features such as the number of claws indicating the status of the wearer.