The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. George K . Voss.

The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

Women’s vest, part of a Cantonese opera costume. Vest is long, covering the hips, with short side slits, and opens down the front with seven metal snaps for closure. The outside surface, front and back, is covered in gold sequins in three shades and small transparent tube beads, creating patterns of leaves, and a key pattern around the neck. The interior of the vest is a light cream synthetic fabric, slightly shiny, with a yellow collar lining. A square blue stamp with Chinese characters is applied at top centre.

Woman’s lavender coloured vest (part of costume 2967/1 a-b and 2967/2). Vest is long, covering the hips, with side slits. The left front of the garment crosses over the right, leaving the right shoulder revealed. The vest attaches with metal snaps at the right edge. Gold and yellow sequins create a flowered band around the neck, edging around the armholes and sides of the garment, and a large flower and foliage design on the front and back. The exterior fabric is a thin crepe, while the inside is a shiny synthetic, both in the same shade of lavender. A round stamp with Chinese characters is on the inside centre of the collar.

Brown and white knit wool vest. The edges of the bottom of the vest, around the arm holes and around the neck opening, are knit using brown wool and a very subtle design. The vest is made of two pieces, a front piece and a back piece that have been stitched together. On the sides, the two pieces are stitched together with brown wool while the top of the vest is stitched together with white-brown wool. The design on the vest varied from the top to the bottom. On the top of the vest near the neck opening there is alternating brown and white brown unfinished lines. The design on the bottom half of the vest is alternating brown and white-brown patches.

Black velvet embroidered vest. The front is covered by embroidered wildflowers in many sizes and colours including large red flowers near the bottom, and small orange, blue or pink sprays at the top, all surrounded by green foliage. Many of the flowers, leaves and vines are embellished with colourful sequins and beads. The vest front is open and has a V-neck, with two small closing snaps located beneath. The inside is lined with a black rayon(?) fabric.

The cloth is blue. The felt is red. The button is white. The bead is white. The thread is white.