JIAQING PERIOD (1796-1820)

The right-hand side of the front of the robe is several inches shorter than the left, and attaches with buttons and loops to the full-length inner flap of the robe. This allowed the wearer to mount a horse more easily. A similar 'lapel-less' or 'lute-shaped lapel' robe in what appears to be ivory silk damask, also patterned with roundels, described as a traveling outfit, is illustrated by Zhou Xun and Gao Chunming, 5000 Years of Chinese Costumes, Hong Kong, 1988 ed., p. 191, fig. 335.