Woman's sleeveless overgarment, satin weave silk with supplementary weft patterning, tasselled hem, China, Qing dynasty, 1723-35Woman's overgarment, sleeveless with tassels. Formal wear for a lady of 1st rank. Front fastening with gilt buttons, no collar, sleeveless, sideless. Multi-coloured tasseled fringe at the hem ( blue, green, red, yellow). Bordeaux red silk plain weave lining. White silk satin ground with supplementary wefts ( gold, green, red, blue, white) bound in twill. The main body features four five-clawed passing dragons pursuing sacred pearls among multi-coloured clouds, above peaks amid waves and lishui ( striped border). Borders are edged with a narrow black silk cut velvet trim, to which brass studs have been applied. Superior quality of weaving. This sleeveless overgarment would have been worn by women over their court robes. The deep tasselled fringe makes the coat full-length.
Both the shape of the waves and the quality of the weaving indicate a 18th century datation.