Ceremonial waistcoat

Unknown artist

Ritual hip garment / apron belonging to court clothing. The apron is worn around the hip with the embroidery on the back. The central decorations are embroidered rank symbols in the form of four pairs of flying cranes between stylised clouds. These images vary by rank. The cranes are placed in eight frames decorated with floral motifs at the intersections. The upper strip consists of stylized cloud motifs, the lower of lotus flowers. The inner strip is decorated with links containing swastikas. At the bottom is a dark blue knotted part with tassels of silk thread (ch'ŏngsamang). This apron was worn, among other things, during the annual ancestor rituals in the royal ancestor shrine, Chongmyo.\The husu is worn around the waist, with the decorations facing to the rear. The decorations and the color of the belt vary according to the rank of the bearer. The base color of this sash is red, with decorative patterns of clouds, swastikas, flowers and four pairs of flying cranes in blue, yellow and white. Hanging towards the ground is a dark-blue knitted part made from silk thread (ch'ŏngsamang). In this case, the cranes and the golden ribbons indicate that this item was used by officials of the first and second rank. Lower ranks would have had different bird motifs and colors.\nThis waistcloth is composed of two embroidered vertical rows of white, green and yellow cranes on a red ground, attached to side panels of yellow silk and to a surrounding band of white silk with black edges. The cranes strain upwards amidst clouds, and are bordered above and below by two bands of embroidery. The upper border is composed of linked ovals encircling alternate swastikas and flowers over which two large brass rings are sewn, and a top row of embroidered coloured clouds: the lower horizontal bands of embroidery are edged by knotted rows of pale-green silk. It was worn with a belt and a black and gold hat, known as a chegwan.