Found on Chinese textiles for thousands of years until the early 20th century, the presence of the Twelve Symbols of Imperial Authority demonstrated the emperor's divine right to rule. According to the Book of Documents (Shujing) (1), the Twelve Symbols were used to decorate costumes by reflecting nature.

The Twelve Symbols include: the sun with a three-legged bird, the moon with a rabbit, stars, mountains, dragons, pheasant, axe, fu symbols, cups, seaweed, flames, and grain.

The sun, moon, and stars reflect the emperor’s constant shining on his territory and people. The mountains reflect a stable nature, the dragons illustrate the marvellous character, the pheasant represents literary ability, the cups symbolize faithfulness and respect, the seaweed represents a clean mind, the flames symbolize brightness, the axe reveals strong resolve, the fu symbolizes a discerning mind, and the grain represents his ability to feed the people.

The placement of these Twelve Symbols on a garment varied according to the costume regulations implemented by authorities. In the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), only the emperor and his heir could wear the complete set of twelve symbols. The sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons, pheasant, axe, and fu symbols were placed at the top of the robe; the cups, flames, seaweed, and grain decorate the lower area of the robe.

This roundel contains nine of the Twelve Symbols of Imperial Authority and represent one of the last uses in the Republican period. The sun, moon, and constellation symbols are all missing, as the monarchy no longer existed in this period.

The Mactaggart Art Collection is one of 29 museum collections part of the University of Alberta Museums network located on the University of Alberta campus. The Mactaggart Art Collection contains approximately 1,000 East Asian paintings, textiles, and objects with a range primarily from the Song (960–1279) through to the end of the Qing (1644–1911) dynasty.