China - Ch'ing Dynasty - Year of the Goat flag.
This handmade, silk Chinese triangular "Year of the Goat" pennant originates from the esteemed "Peking Opera". In 1980, Ben & Louise Zaricor acquired it in a Beijing antique shop identified as Ch'ing Dynasty flags and dated to the late 19th century.
Peking Opera is the English term for the art form which is a synthesis of stylized action, music, vocal performance, mime, dance, acrobatics fighting and dancing to represent a story or depict different characters and their feelings of gladness, anger, sorrow, happiness, surprise, fear and sadness. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century, at the twilight of the Ch'ing Dynasty. Flags such as this one could have been used to identify a character to a specific time during a performance.
One of the most famous performance troupes of this art form could be found in Peking, now Beijing. Similar flags were often a part of the troupes' highly stylized costumes rather than simple stage props.
The Chinese Zodiac is a calendar that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year cycle. The Year of the Goat occurs once every 12 years.
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