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Robe - $1 (Poulsbo)
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Identification of the Robe
The garment appears to be a Chinese women’s embroidered silk robe (a long outer coat). Its style and decoration match the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) “informal” women’s robes, often called a changyi (長衣) or chenyi. Such robes were worn by Manchu (and Han) ladies of the late imperial court or aristocracy for everyday or semi-formal occasions, as opposed to the highly ceremonial dragon robes. For example, Christie’s catalog describes a “Manchu woman’s pink silk informal robe (changyi, late Qing)” embroidered with butterflies and flowers . In Qing court dress codes, women’s everyday robes fell into two types, the changyi (with side splits for movement) and the chenyi (no side splits) . Our robe – richly embroidered with narrative scenes and motifs on a red-brown ground – closely resembles late Qing/Republic-period ladies’ changyi. A recent antique listing even describes a similar “Chinese antique silk robe for a lady” of Republic-era date, made of red silk and “embroidered with intricate scenes of lovely ladies and scholars in a garden” . In short, this is likely a late 19th or early 20th century Chinese women’s silk robe (informal domestic or changyi style).