The two sides of the front were stitched together, probably with the thought of displaying or framing it. The vest is made of dark midnight blue silk embroidered with satin stitch and couched gold thread embroidery. This vest (Chinese xiapei) was worn by a woman in the Qing Dynasty, possibly on her wedding day or when she went to court with her husband. There is a rank badge with a silver pheasant (fifth rank) attached. This would have been a matching badge to that of her husband denoting his rank in the Qing Dynasty court. Surrounding the rank badge are depictions of cranes, clouds, bats, peacocks and silver pheasants. Below the rank badge, on either side of the vest are 2 dragons with couched gold thread bodies. The bottom of the vest has the traditional water and mountain (lishui) pattern of Imperial robes. A very fine netting with silk tassels forms the bottom of the vest. Some of the netting requires minor repair and one tassel is missing some strands of silk. The vest is edged with a border of woven silk. The silk lining has significant shattering. The back of this vest was detached from the front. However, the body of the vest is in very good condition, commensurate with its age. A picture of an almost identical vest appears in Valerie Garrets book: Chinese Dress from the Qing Dynasty to the Present. Approximate size: 36 inches long x 24 inches at its widest part. Notice to international buyers. The item “ANTIQUE CHINESE QING DYNASTY RARE FORMAL VEST(STOLE) RANK BADGE AND DRAGONS” is in sale since Thursday, June 28, 2018. This item is in the category “Antiques\Asian Antiques\China\Robes & Textiles”. The seller is “fivebats” and is located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. This item can be shipped to United States.