A MIDNIGHT-BLUE GROUND SILVER AND GOLD-EMBROIDERED JACKET, MAGUA 19th centuryA MIDNIGHT-BLUE GROUND SILVER AND GOLD-EMBROIDERED JACKET, MAGUA19th centuryFinely embroidered on the front and back in gold and silver-wrapped threads and satin stitch with eight roundels each enclosing a central blossoming peony surrounded by smaller peonies, gourds and the Eight Treasures, all above the terrestrial diagram at the lishui border interspersed with further blooming peonies, trimmed with a high collar and sky-blue sleeve bands and lining.107cm (42in) long.十九世紀 石青地捻金銀繡團牡丹紋馬褂Finely embroidered in wrapped gold threads with a profusion of peonies and gourds, the present robe would have been worn by a high-ranking Han Chinese woman.Women in Han society often paired calf-length garments with pleated silk skirts, a combination that had existed for centuries prior to the establishment of the Qing dynasty. As the present example illustrates, these robes were fastened down the centre front, in Ming style, or with the right-front overlap with a loop-and-toggle-button closure. They were typically worn during celebrations such as New Year, birthdays, seasonal festivals and formal family gatherings. Compare with a related blue-ground silk robe, 19th century, similarly decorated in gold thread with Eight roundels enclosing flowers and suspicious emblems gold thread, illustrated in Heaven's Embroidered Cloths. One Thousand Years of Chinese Textiles, Hong Kong, 1995, pp.246-247.is_parse: 20230413image: yuzhan_bonhams_item.jpgsold_price_type: £