Miao Cotton Festival Jacket

The body of the jacket shimmers olive and bronze, like oil on a puddle.

This festival jacket is Miao (Hmong), from Guizhou Province, China, and dates to the 20th century. It is woven silk and cotton. Miao women across Guizhou are known for elaborate dress, in which embroidered panels at the shoulders and neckline carry much of the decoration. Here the glossy, dark-green silk is left plain through the body, while the shoulders and cuffs carry bands of red and violet needlework in stepped and looped patterns. Long strips of the same embroidery run down the front opening. It is 22 inches by 44.

Quiet where it can be, loud at the shoulders.