This semi-formal unofficial robe can be associated with the private court of the Dowager Empress, Cixi (1835-1908). Whether made to be worn by Cixi herself or by one of her many ladies in waiting, it reflects the refinements of a centuries-old imperial tradition where clothing and a rich variety of accoutrement were regarded as absolutely necessary to maintain the proper hierarchical order in society.
A similar robe, also with flowers and butterflies on a turquoise-green kesi ground, is in The Minneapolis Institute of Art, illustrated in Imperial Silks, Ch'ing Dynasty Textiles in The Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, 2000, pp. 484-85, no. 199.

Post Lot Text

A TURQUOISE KESI DOWAGER EMPRESS-STYLE INFORMAL ROBE
CHINA, QING DYNASTY, LATE 19TH CENTURY