The wives of Chinese officials often wore the badges of their husband's rank on the front and back of sleeveless garments or xia pei. A similar xia pei, with a court insignia badge of a seventh rank official, is illustrated by John E. Vollmer, Decoding Dragons: Status Garments in Ch'ing Dynasty China, University of Oregon Museum of Art, 1983, p. 56, pl. 19. The author notes that the nine pairs of birds, six of which also appear on the present lot, are emblems of civil court bureaucracy. For another example, see Gary Dickinson and Linda Wrigglesworth, Imperial Wardrobe, London, 1990, pl. 168