Silk was one of the most important representative commodities in the cultural exchange between Tibet and China during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Chinese emperors often gifted silk to foreign ambassadors and visitors to help build the diplomatic relationships with other territories.

Tibetan aristocrats such as the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, and other ambassadors to and from Tibet highly valued the Chinese dragon-patterned silk and sought it as gifts when offering tributes or trading with China. The symbols and figures on the silk represented prominent Buddhist ideas and also the political power of the Ming and Qing empires. The variations of the dragon pattern found on chubas, Tibetan robes, as either gifts or commodities demonstrates some of the regulations of the Chinese imperial court.

Tibetan textiles in Dragons on the Tibetan Plateau include robes and textiles made of Chinese silks and decorated with variations on Chinese dragon patterns. The textiles in this exhibition feature dragons with claws, horns, tails, and in a variety of colours, and they were produced using different weaving and embroidery techniques.

All textiles featured in this exhibition are from the University of Alberta Museums’ Mactaggart Art Collection. Edmonton philanthropists Drs. Sandy and Cécile Mactaggart, generously began donating their collection to the University of Alberta in 2005. The Mactaggart Art Collection contains more than 1,000 works of art, textiles, handscrolls, albums, and more from ancient and modern East Asia.

https://www.ualberta.ca/museums/visit-explore/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/vrdragonsonthetibetanplateau.html