1895 - 1896 Chinese American Man's Gown
- Description (Brief)
- Lee B. Lok (1869-1942) immigrated to San Francisco from Guangdong Province, China in 1881 and soon after moved to New York City's Chinatown where he worked in the Quong Yuen Shing & Co. store.
- Lee B. Lok ordered this gown from China to wear at the 1896 arrival ceremony in New York of Li Hongzhang, emissary of the Empress Dowager of China. Soon after Lee came to America he abandoned Chinese clothes for daily use and cut his queue. However on special occasions Lee wore clothing that identified him as Chinese. This Manchu style gown splits at the back, front, and both sides to allow for easy movement on horseback – a reflection of the Manchu people’s equestrian background.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- gown, man's
- Object Type
- Man
- Gown
- Main Dress
- date made
- ca 1896
- maker
- unknown
- Physical Description
- silk (overall material)
- satin (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 72 cm x 131 cm; 28 3/8 in x 51 9/16 in
- place made
- China
- worn
- United States: New York, Manhattan, Chinatown
- ID Number
- 1992.0620.24
- catalog number
- 1992.0620.24
- accession number
- 1992.0620
- subject
- Chinese American
- Family & Social Life
- Immigration
- Immigrants
- Cultures & Communities
- Clothing & Accessories
- Chinese American
- event
- Li Hongzhang visit to New York
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Costume
- Chinese American
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- Credit Line
- Gift of James Edgar Mead and Virginia Lee Mead
- Publication title
- Lee Chinese -American Family Papers, ca. 1915-1970
- Publication author
- Mead, Virginia Lee
- Publication URL
- http://collections.si.edu/search/results.jsp?q=set_name:%22Lee+Chinese-American+Family+Papers%2C+ca.+1915-1970%22
- Additional Media
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