Manchu Woman's Semi-formal Court Coat

For the rulers of China’s Qing dynasty (1644–1911), visual spectacle was used to demonstrate authority and legitimacy. The ruling elite lived in a lavish and sumptuous atmosphere decorated with the finest materials, their very clothing covered in a complex symbolic language that expressed both auspicious wishes and one’s rank at court. Many features of this stunning robe suggest that it was made for a member of the imperial family.

Dragons, the foremost icon of imperial rule, cavort in a sky filled with colorful clouds, auspicious objects, and lucky red bats. Other motifs place the wearer at the center of an ordered imperial cosmos: the stylized waves at the hem and on the sleeves are the eternal ocean, with rainbow-colored sacred mountain peaks rising from them into the sky above. The light brown color of this robe was usually reserved for members of the imperial clan outside of the immediate imperial family, who wore yellow.

The style of this robe references the northern homeland and equestrian martial traditions of the Manchus, an ethnic group from Northeast Asia who made up the Qing imperial family. It has tapered sleeves, tight around the wrists then flaring out in “horsehoof cuffs,” features that kept the arms warm and hands covered when holding reins.