Shan Chiefs

A magnificent ceremony was held in Delhi in 1903 to mark the coronation of Edward VII of Great Britain as emperor of India. Rajas and princes from all over British India (into which British Burma, including the Shan states, had by then been incorporated) attended the ceremony. Here we see a group of attending Shan rulers, wearing their most formal court garments. (The Shan are groups in eastern Burma who speak a language related to Thai.)

These garments, with their wide, sometimes finned collars and flaring hanging panels elaborately decorated with gold thread, spangles, and glass gems, recall those of the Mandalay court (see 2008.77.A-.J). Before the fall of the Burmese monarchy to the British in 1885, Burmese kings would bestow aristocratic garments and accoutrements upon Shan rulers in recognition of their loyalty.