Period:Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Culture:China Medium:Silk gauze embroidered with silk and metallic thread Dimensions:8 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. (21.59 x 23.50 cm) Classification:Textiles-Embroidered Credit Line:Gift of Alice Boney, 1955 Accession Number:55.157.2This rank badge bears no rank insignia, that is, no bird or animal denoting the civil or military rank of the wearer. However, it does have a ring of bats encircling the empty space where the insignia belongs. In China bats were considered an auspicious pattern because the word for "bat" is similar in sound to the word for "happiness".
Period:Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Culture:China Medium:Silk gauze embroidered with silk and metallic thread Dimensions:8 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. (21.59 x 23.50 cm) Classification:Textiles-Embroidered Credit Line:Gift of Alice Boney, 1955 Accession Number:55.157.2This rank badge bears no rank insignia, that is, no bird or animal denoting the civil or military rank of the wearer. However, it does have a ring of bats encircling the empty space where the insignia belongs. In China bats were considered an auspicious pattern because the word for "bat" is similar in sound to the word for "happiness".