This robe was probably made for a member of the Manchu hierarchy. Although these robes were not uncommon at the time, few have survived as their simplicity in comparison to other contemporary costume did not appeal to early collectors in the field. Compare a padded, winter robe, similar in its elegant style, blue silk with dragon roundels, and horseshoe cuffs, included in the exhibition, Dragon Emperor, Treasures from the Forbidden City, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1989, illustrated by Dr. Mae Anna Pang, in the Catalogue, p. 101, no. 55. The robe is described as an Emperor's infomal robe and dated to the Qianlong period. See, also, a red silk example, also dated Qianlong, illustrated by Wan Yi, et. al., Daily Life in the Forbidden City, Viking, 1988, p. 179, no. 243