A blue-ground silk embroidered military officer's ceremonial armor, Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th century | 清十八 / 十九世紀 藍地繡金龍銅釘儀仗棉甲

Ceremonial armor, worn for official occasions, was an essential part of court life in the late 18th and 19th centuries. In fact, the present suit notably retains its protective metal plates at a time when the outer studs increasingly served only a decorative purpose. John E. Vollmer in Silks for Thrones and Altars. Chinese Costumes and Textiles, Paris, 2003, p. 78, notes that armor 'can be related to the wuxing (five elements), in which the colors black or dark blue correspond to the element water and to north' and that dragons reflect the imperial iconography, ensuring that each component embroidered with a dragon amid clouds above mountains and waves, forms a miniature cosmos, reiterating imperial might. For related examples, see ibid, pl. 37 and another example, with helmet, sword and scabbard, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession nos 16.118.29b–i,l,m; 32.75.301; and 36.25.5a,2061).