Chinese
Informal Coat for a Woman (Ch'ao Kua) with Designs of Bats, Butterflies, and Peony and Chrysanthemum Sprays, about 1850-1900
Cut voided silk velvet, 107 x 128.3 cm (42 1/8 x 50 1/2 in.)
This late 19th Century informal Chinese coat for a woman (Ch’ao) is made of velvet. The jacket is hip length with sleeves that come to the mid-arm, and a simple rounded hole for the neck in the center top. An asymmetrical closing extends from the center below the neck diagonally down to just below the underarm on the coat’s right. The closure has a green border outlined with a fine, white edging. The body of this slightly flared coat and the sleeves up to their cuffs have a voided (low, no pile), ochre, velvet background that contrasts with the large, raised, dark red pile chrysanthemum spray and butterflies. The flowers and insects are inverted in every other row. The red tendrils and leaves from the chrysanthemums fill much of the intervening space. The top of the cuffs on the sleeves have the same dark green border, as does the front opening. In addition the cuffs have an wider, lighter green strip, separated from the dark green border with a narrow gold strip and decorated with peonies, bats, and butterflies in red, cut velvet.
Short Gallery
Commentary
Women’s dress during the Qing Dynasty was strictly regulated, with laws stipulating that only upper class women could wear fine clothing like this coat from the 19th century. During Isabella's lifetime, the coat was hidden away in the Short Gallery secretary, where she kept many costumes and textiles. The voided velvet pattern features large sprays of peonies and chrysanthemums, two flowers that symbolize vitality and feminine beauty. When paired with the chrysanthemums, the butterflies sprinkled throughout the coat represent beauty in old age.