100 Bird Festival Coats are made by Miao women in the remote mountainous villages of the Southeastern Guizhou province of China. It takes six months to a year to make one coat. The coats are hand embroidered on silk pulp and feature boldly rendered bird motifs, flowers, and butterflies, the latter representing one of the legendary ancestors of the Miao peoples.
The coat was originally worn during festivals honoring ancestors. The coat is “an embodiment of Miao culture, and is hailed as an ethnic epic”. (People’s Daily, China’s Post).
These coats rarely are seen for sale. I bought this one at an sale. I was struck by the beauty of the silk embroidery…the designs, the colors…incredible! It would look stunning displayed on a wall.
The coat has twelve vertical panels. Each one ends with a chicken feather hanging from a length of seed beads. I have shown close ups of the sleeves where you can see bare spots. In one photo there is a loose flap of the brown material that could be just gently glued down.
I just took two new photos of the coat on my mannequin to demonstrate what a showstopper this coat would be when worn. In the first photo I accessorized the coat with a leather belt and a vintage Mexican necklace. In the second photo I removed these items. The listing does not include them. I layered the coat over a white lace dress which you can find in my other listings.
The coat is 46” long, 51” long including the feather. Across from sleeve edge to sleeve edge - 51”. Body width (including about a 3” opening at the front - 24”. The panels are 23” long, including the feathers. They are 3 1/4 “ wide.
The sleeves are 15” long and 9” wide.
I welcome all questions and requests for more photos.