PORTRAIT OF A ROYAL LADY

Women's chaofu's are composed of three separate garments: a chaopao worn unbelted with the piling cape, a chaogua and a pleated underskirt. High-ranking noblewomen also wore torque-like jeweled collars around their neck and no fewer than three court necklaces. Ceremonial tradition also required all Manchu women to wear three sets of pearl earrings and a ceremonial kerchief also hung from the breast.
A person's rank was indicated by the color of the chaofu worn. This lady's apricot-yellow chaofu indicates that she might have been a consort of the crown prince. Alternatively, her coral chaochu necklaces and double tiered headdress of phoenixes and pearls suggest that she might have been a lesser ranking imperial concubine.