Rank Badge with Dragon Pillow

Unlike the bird-and-animal badges that marked China's nine grades of civil and military officialdom, dragon badges were reserved for the emperor's own relatives and the highest nobility, or worn in four- and five-clawed variants by princes and select high officials as marks of imperial favor. This badge's coiling dragon, rendered amid clouds, signals that elevated status rather than a standard official rank. Dragon insignia were among the most tightly regulated symbols in the Qing sumptuary system, with the number of claws closely tied to precedence.

Jacquard-woven both sides in soft, durable yarn; insert included.