A rare traditional Dao Hồng Tụ back collar from Yên Bái Province, in the mountainous north of Vietnam. Created as a detachable panel worn over the back of a tunic, this piece represents a distinctive and highly expressive form of Dao women’s dress.
The upper band is composed of black cotton with a vivid red appliquéd strip, bordered by rows of white and dark antique glass beads. The beadwork forms a strong horizontal pattern, punctuated by small colored accents and geometric divisions. From this decorated band fall long red silk streamers, creating a dense fringe that would have moved with the wearer.
The Dao are one of Vietnam’s major highland ethnic groups, with many regional subgroups distinguished by language, ritual life, and costume. Women’s clothing is especially important as a marker of identity, and each subgroup developed its own conventions of color, form, ornament, and dress structure. This collar comes from the Dao Hồng Tụ community, whose textile traditions remain comparatively rare and understudied.
Its detachable construction sets it apart from many integrated collar forms found in other regional garments. As a separate adornment, it concentrates color, beadwork, and movement into a single dramatic textile object. The combination of red silk fringe, antique glass beads, and appliquéd cotton gives the piece both visual force and ethnographic significance.
Size: 1'3 x 10" (6'5" with tie strings)
Age: early 20th Century
Origin: Northern Vietnam
Type of Textile: Ceremonial textile element
Material: Glass beads, silk
Condition:
Good. Missing beads
TX716
