Manchu woman's robe with peonies and butterflies

On a red silk ground of twill weave, scrolls of peony flowers along with flying butterflies are arranged on the front and back panels as well as the shoulders and sleeves of the garment. Butterflies are symbols of joy, and when combined with peonies (the flower of wealth and honor), they form a wish for an accumulation of blessings, wealth, and high social status. Black bands ornamented with floral sprays run along the collar, lapel, and sleeve cuffs, as well as the side seams and bottom hems. Long robes embroidered with auspicious decorations like this one could have been worn on occasions such as a birthday celebration, representing formal domestic attire for wealthy Manchu women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The close-fitting slitted Chinese qipao dress of the 1920s and 1930s, which many people are familiar with, originates from the Manchu female’s robe exemplified here.