CIRCA 1900

This uniform would have been made for ceremonial purposes only. However, the construction is based on armour used for protection in battle. Each regiment of the Manchu Banner army wore uniforms in the colours of their banner. The dark blue ground of the present uniform would have been reserved for a member of the Cavalry Brigade Banner, assigned to protect the capital city. They were made in the Imperial workshops in Hangzhou and when they were not being worn were stored at the Western Gate of the Forbidden City. For a similarly-decorated yellow-ground ceremonial suit from the collection of William E. Colby see, Robert D. Jacobsen, Imperial Silks: Ch'ing Dynasty Textiles in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Vol. I, Minneapolis, 2000, p. 346, no. 137. A similar blue-ground ceremonial armour was sold at Christie's New York, 29 March 2006, lot 282.