A RARE MIDNIGHT-BLUE-GROUND GAUZE SILK 'LANTERNS' MANCHU WOMAN'S INFORMAL SURCOAT, CHANGPAO Mid-19th centuryA RARE MIDNIGHT-BLUE-GROUND GAUZE SILK 'LANTERNS' MANCHU WOMAN'S INFORMAL SURCOAT, CHANGPAOMid-19th centuryThe front-opening garment finely embroidered on the front and back in counted-stitch technique with flittering butterflies amidst blossoming lotus, chrysanthemums, prunus and peonies and symmetrically-placed roundels each enclosing a lantern surrounded by bunches of blossoming flowers alternating with flittering butterflies, all above the intricate finely-drawn turbulent wave border incorporating lingzhi-form vapor and the Buddhist Emblems in the wind-tossed waves rising from a deep lishui stripe, the details embroidered in bright, shaded tones of red, green, purple, yellow, blue and white, the lanterns, butterflies and floral designs repeated at the cuffs, all reserved on a midnight-blue ground, the entire garment in lined blue. 173cm (68 1/8in) wide x 134cm (52 6/8in) long.十九世紀中期 石青地納紗八團燈籠紋袍Provenance: an English private collection 來源：英國私人收藏Elegantly woven with roundels enclosing multi-coloured lanterns and floral designs, the present lot is a rare example of formal surcoats worn by the highest-ranking women of the Qing Court.The rich symbolic content of the decoration embroidered on textiles is deeply rooted in Chinese culture. The colourful lanterns may indicate that the present surcoat was worn on the occasion of the Lantern Festival, falling on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which marked the end of the New Year celebrations and the coming of spring. For the occasion, grand ceremonies were set up by the Emperor to invoke Heaven for blessing and wealth and several lanterns decorated with auspicious designs underscoring felicitous wishes were hung from coloured curtains; see J.Stuart, 'Timely Images: Chinese Art and Festival Display', in Proceedings of the British Academy, vol.167, 2009, pp.295–348.Compare with a related blue-round silk kesi informal surcoat, mid-19th century, illustrated by J.Vollmer, Imperial Silks.Ch'ing Textiles from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MA, 2000, p.273, n.106.