Date: Qing (AD 1644-1911)
Area: Liangshan, Sichuan province
Material: Leather

• Object Type：
  • OTHERS
• Location：
  • Chinese Minority Nationalities' Art Gallery
• Tag：
  • armor yi qing sichuan leather

The painted patent leather armor of the Yi people in Liangshan is made of cowhide and is tailored in accordance with human body shape, similar to the mirror armor of the Tang dynasty. Its front and back are made of a large piece of leather, with four smaller rectangular pieces beneath them to protect the abdomen and waist, further below are six layers of armor made of 300 small pieces of cowhide densely overlapped. Black, red, and yellow are the basic colors of leather armor of the Yi people. Yi people adore black. Black stands for ‘noble’; red represents propitious portent, a symbol of courage and fearlessness; yellow means good luck, beauty, and bright. There are about five patterns on this armor: the breastplate is decorated with vortex patterns on both sides, known as ‘bull eye pattern’; there is a striking crown-like image in the middle part, called ‘cockscomb pattern’; the rim is decorated with three kinds of patterns, including star, rapeseed, and plant, meaning flowering and auspicious, which is related to the Yi people’s belief that the bull and cock are sacred animals. Joined together with leather ropes, the leather armor has a quaint style and thick texture.