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Post by snafu on May 3, 2018 3:20:08 GMT 3
I was always a little puzzled by the robe Ogedei Khan is wearing in his court portrait. Its not a Mongolian robe, but its unusual for the Chinese also. I thought maybe it was religious or ceremonial, but it turns out to be a common style of robe worn by the Jurchens of the Jin dynasty. It shows up in a lot of Jurchen tomb murals so it was obviously a popular style among them (the yellow color was also very popular). I wonder if the artist who painted the portrait was intentionally trying to make Ogedei look like a Jin emperor or if Ogedei really adopted Jin clothing in life.
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Post by Temüjin on May 3, 2018 17:20:08 GMT 3
now that's very interesting!
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Post by snafu on May 4, 2018 1:30:28 GMT 3
I agree! I just wish I knew the significance, if any. Probably just artistic choice. Ogedei probably wasnt even alive anymore when it was painted, although I'm not sure when that particular portrait dates to.
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Post by Temüjin on May 6, 2018 14:23:25 GMT 3
I agree! I just wish I knew the significance, if any. Probably just artistic choice. Ogedei probably wasnt even alive anymore when it was painted, although I'm not sure when that particular portrait dates to. i think this is because he's the only Yuan emperor not from the lineage of Tolui. it is also curious that neither Tolui nor Mönkhe were given formal court portraits... unless they were lost. the Jurchen dress certainly separates him from the other court portraits of Yuan emperors in a distinct way. another option is that it was because the tribes of his appanage were also dressed in Jurchen dress for some reason. he was also one of the main commanders to fight the Jin dynasty, but i see no reason why he would then be portrayed to wear their dress. also he wasn't the only royal prince to fight them nor did he exclusively fight them. they were however beaten during his rule. it is though therefore possible that he claimed their regnal title as well and might have adopted their dress code accordingly.
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Post by H. İhsan Erkoç on May 6, 2018 19:13:28 GMT 3
Very interesting detail indeed. As Temüjin pointed out, it is possible that the portrait is reflecting a symbol of legitimacy over the newly conquered Jurchen subjects of Ögödei Qaghan.
I think we can compare this case with the support and favor shown by the Ilkhanids to their Oghuz subjects. When Rashiduddin Fazlullah was composing his famous work Compendium of Chronicles (Jami' al-Tawarikh), he melded Jewish, Turkic (Oghuz) and Mongol traditions into one lineage linking Adam, Oghuz Khan and Genghis Khan with each other. It is also not a coincidence that the Uyghur version of the Legend of Oghuz Qaghan was written in the Ilkhanid court.
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Post by snafu on May 7, 2018 3:32:03 GMT 3
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Post by Temüjin on May 7, 2018 20:25:18 GMT 3
this one? www.amazon.com/China-unearthed-murals-Complete-Chinese/dp/7030307208/ref=sr_1_1certainly Ögedei having a different dress is no coincidence. those court portraits were commissioned by the Toluid Yuan emperors and the House of Ögödei was a rival for at least Qubilai's rule and own legitimacy. at the time of Ögedei's death, the Song dynasty did still exist and was only conquered by Qubilai himself. thus, it is reasonable to assume that Ögedei was specifically protrayed as "only" being the Jin emperor, not the emperor of 'TianXia', that is all of China. however, it's still curious a portrait of Ögedei was commissioned in the first place, but Tolui and especially Möngke were omitted.
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Post by snafu on May 8, 2018 2:36:14 GMT 3
Actually a portrait of Tolui was made according to what I've read. Apparently Khubilai commissioned portraits of Genghis, Ogedei and Tolui to be created in 1278. The Mongol court artist Qorgorsun was given the job (I'm not sure if he painted them himself or supervised a team of many painters). These were the earliest recorded Mongol portraits. I guess the Tolui portrait didn't survive. Or if it has I've never seen it.
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Post by H. İhsan Erkoç on May 8, 2018 2:51:36 GMT 3
By the way, if anyone is interested in Chinese tomb murals I found a great 10 volume set called "The Complete Collection of Murals Unearthed in China." The text is in Chinese, but they're mainly picture books and the pictures have descriptions in both Chinese and English. Lots of good stuff from the Jin, Sung, Yuan, and Liao. Excellent, thank you for the recommendation. Wish I could have a copy.
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