Robe

Item number 3390/2 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

Item Records

This page shows all the information we have about this item. Both the institution that physically holds this item, and RRN members have contributed the knowledge on this page. You’re looking at the item record provided by the holding institution. If you scroll further down the page, you’ll see the information from RRN members, and can share your own knowledge too.

The RRN processes the information it receives from each institution to make it more readable and easier to search. If you’re doing in-depth research on this item, be sure to take a look at the Data Source tab to see the information exactly as it was provided by the institution.

These records are easy to share because each has a unique web address. You can copy and paste the location from your browser’s address bar into an email, word document, or chat message to share this item with others.

Data
Data Source

This information was automatically generated from data provided by MOA: University of British Columbia. It has been standardized to aid in finding and grouping information within the RRN. Accuracy and meaning should be verified from the Data Source tab.

Description

Robe of dark blue silk with two knot and loop closures at the neck, and two ties at the chest. A small light blue border is layered over a larger beige silk border along bottom hem that extends along front opening, and around the neck. The beige border has scroll-work designs at hips, chest and neck. The interior of the sleeves lined with embroidered beige silk, that is exposed when cuff is folded back. Robe is embroidered in various shades of blue with detailing in gold-coloured metal thread and accents in red, pink, light green and orange silk thread. The embroidered designs include flowers, koi fish, butterflies and phoenix.

History Of Use

There are two types of Qing women’s clothing, the Manchu and the Han styles. By mid to late Qing, the two styles had influenced each other and they became similar. The most significant change to fashion during the Qing Dynasty is the use of buttons. For everyday wear, affluent women would wear a side (Manchu style) or front-fastening (Han style) robe with a wrap-around Han style pleated apron skirt called Ma Mian Qun (馬面裙/马面裙).

Narrative

The donor, Mary Stimpson was born in China in 1920 and lived there with her family until 1938. Her father was a US citizen who originally worked in the import/export business. Her parents arrived in China around 1915.