A light blue silk 'butterfly' woman's Winter robe19th century
The light blue silk garment fashioned with wide sleeves, heavily padded throughout for Winter use, embroidered overall in satin stitch with a myriad of butterflies, the black hems embroidered ensuite. 134cm (52 3/4in) long注脚Provenance: given by Sir Thomas Wade (1818-1895) to his sister-in-law Maria Sophia Hardcastle, née Herschel (1839-1929) (handwritten note).
Sir Thomas Wade was an eminent British diplomat and sinologist who spent over forty years in China. He taught himself Mandarin, wrote extensively on Chinese studies, and his pioneering work led to the famous Wade-Giles system of romanization for Mandarin Chinese.