Components of courtly costumes

On formal occasions Burmese courtiers wore, over their sarong and light jacket, extremely elaborate decorative garments covered in embroidery, sequins, and glass jewels. Laws regulated which designs and colors could be worn by persons of various ranks.
This set of components of such a court costume is probably not complete. Also, examination by conservators indicates that various components were made at different times or originally belonged to different costumes. Several have one backing fabric and several another, the two groups each having a different sort of handmade sequins.

Similar decorative garments are shown being worn by royal personages in depictions of legends and on puppets (see F2008.58.4 and 2010.540).

It seems likely that after the British abolition of the Burmese monarchy in 1885 some formal court garments passed into use as costumes for actors portraying royal and aristocratic characters on the stage.