Chinese Tiger Rank Badge Leather Journal*The Met Store New

A thoughtful gift for art lovers.

The striking design on our embossed leather journal comes from an 18th-century Chinese rank badge featuring a ferocious tiger beneath swirling clouds. Such spectacularly embroidered badges were worn by government officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties; badges with birds indicated a civil official while animals such as the tiger were reserved for military officers, and each creature corresponded to a specific rank.