Woman’s opera costume shirt, lime green in colour and made of a light synthetic fabric. The body of shirt is undecorated, relatively short, straight at sides, with a front button panel made of unbleached cotton with a small rounded neck-opening. Sleeves are wide and scooped, heavily embellished with green sequins and translucent cylindrical beads in the pattern of a dragon with a long, scaled body and clawed feet. Clouds and swirls in green and red surround the creature. The edges of the sleeves have a wide band of green sequins and translucent beads in ‘u’ shapes.

Back skirt panel for a woman's opera costume. Garment consists of three floor length panels, a large centre one and two thin side pieces that slightly overlap it. All are edged with white rabbit (?) fur. The panels are completely covered in green, red and pink sequins, patterned to show scaled dragons, each gripping a red ball. The panels are attached to an unbleached cotton waistband with long cotton ties. The back is lined in a plain white synthetic fabric.

Opera costume skirt panel. Panel is long, widening slightly toward the scalloped bottom, and is covered entirely on the front by green sequins in the shape of two dragons grasping at a red and pink ball. The panel is edged in white rabbit fur, and lined on the back with a shiny white synthetic fabric. The waistband is made of unbleached cotton and has a long tie at each corner.

The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

Cuffs for a Cantonese opera costume blouse. Heavily sequined cuffs with three metal snaps for attaching. The sequins make a flower pattern in gold and yellow. A square stamp enclosing Chinese characters can be found on the back of each cuff.

Figure of Maximon/San Simon seated on a chair and festooned with offerings. The painted wood body is dressed in a green fabric army uniform and red scarf and is bound to a wooden chair with straw seat with a multi-coloured belt that ties a metal sword around his waist. The head with metal hat (part b) is on a metal post that sticks into the neck and is removable. Other offerings include a metal necklace (c), two paper money bills (parts d, g), a colourful clay incense burner (e), and a glass bottle of liquid (part f).

Cantonese opera scholar’s robe made of light blue fabric front and back, lined inside with white cotton. The left side of the robe crosses over the front, to attach with a tie under the right arm, creating a shallow V-neck. The sleeves are indented slightly at the under-arm, then widen and remain thus from shoulder to cuff. Long white panels of the same width are attached at each cuff. The robe is decorated with sequins in a pattern of leaves, branches and flowers front and back and on arms. Gold and silver sequins border the robe edges.

Blue fabric hat is a squared cone shape, topped with elaborate, shaped flaps. From the flaps at the side of the head hang long, light green tassels. The hat is decorated in copper, gold and silver sequins with floral and swirl patterns. Two ribbons, each approximately 72 cm long, dangle from the rear bottom of the hat and are also decorated on their ends with sequins. White cotton ties close the hat at rear centre. The interior of the hat is lined with white fabric.

Blue fabric hat. Hat is a squared cone shape, topped with elaborate, shaped flaps. The hat is decorated in copper, gold and green sequins with flower and swirl patterns. Yellow ribbon edges the flaps, with black ribbon on the bottom edge of the hat. Two ribbons, each approximately 76 cm long, dangle from the rear bottom of the hat and are also decorated with sequins. A long metal button holds the hat closed at the back along with two white cotton ties beneath. Two small detachable wings (parts b and c) fit into either side of the long button. The interior of the hat is lined with white cotton.

Cantonese opera costume hood. The hood is long and deep, rectangular in shape with a rounded bottom corner. The exterior is completely covered in sequins; a green base with silver and light green leaf and foliage pattern, accented with transparent bead tubes. White satin lines the interior, with a short white fur edging around the whole. The inner top of the hood holds a strip of sequins from which a total of four green satin ribbon ties with sequins and fur ends hang. The hood goes with a cape, 2967/28.